Josh Allen Stops at Air Force Academy on USO Tour, Calls It “The Toughest, Most Elite School in the Country”
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – As part of a USO-sponsored visit to military installations across the country, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen stopped at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) this week, where he gave a speech to cadets and met with the Falcons football team inside their practice facility.
Addressing a packed audience of future Air Force officers, Allen didn’t hold back in his admiration for the academy’s rigorous standards.
“This is the toughest school to get into, no question about it,” Allen said, nodding as cadets cheered in agreement. “It takes a different kind of person to make it here. You can’t just be a great student, you can’t just be a great athlete—you have to be both, and then some.”
Allen, who played against Air Force multiple times while quarterbacking the Wyoming Cowboys, reflected on how those games shaped his view of the academy’s football program and its players.
“There’s no team more disciplined, no team that plays harder. You can feel it when you’re out there—every guy knows exactly what he’s doing. They don’t take plays off. They don’t beat themselves. That’s why you guys win so many Commander-in-Chief’s Trophies,” Allen said, referring to the annual competition among the service academies. “I’ve played against a lot of tough teams, but Air Force? Different breed.”
Before wrapping up, Allen shared his thoughts on the academy’s place among its peers.
“I’ve got all the respect in the world for the other academies too, over in West Point and Baltimore. Future leaders, great Americans,” Allen said. Then, with a grin, he added, “But if I could send my kid to one school? It’d be USAFA. It’s just better. No grunt dynamics. No questionable goat stuff. Just pure greatness like I see here today in these fine men and women. I mean, look, you gotta be smarter than people who opted to be trapped on a boat for months at a time, right?”
When asked later if he planned to visit any other academies, Allen smiled and said his USO schedule was “pretty full” but added, “I mean, we started here for a reason, right?”
