He’s 5-foot-7.

A quick look can convince a person that there’s nothing that connects his shoulders to his head, especially when decked out in shoulder pads and a helmet.

He’s not a superhero to UK football yet, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a superhero-like name.

“We call him Turtle Man,” junior running back Alfonso Smith said. “It’s because of how low he runs. And he doesn’t have a neck. In pads, it looks like he’s hiding in a shell. He looks like a turtle.”

UK head coach Rich Brooks described him as a “bowling ball” of a running back during spring practice. With Smith providing hare-like speed, the Cats look to one player when they want to grind the ball down the field.

Turtle Man, a.k.a. Moncell Allen.

Allen, a sophomore running back, has been through it all since committing to UK in 2005. A New Orleans native, Allen’s family was displaced to Charlotte, N.C., after Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Allen attended Fork Union Military Academy before finally making it to UK last season.

After landing in Lexington, Allen was an afterthought to most fans, who saw Rafael Little, Tony Dixon and Smith as a full backfield for UK.  Then Derrick Locke emerged as another option in the backfield,  pushing Allen down on the depth chart.

But Allen still made the most of his attempts, playing in all 13 games as a freshman in various roles. Heading into this season, Allen was again pushed to fourth on the depth chart behind Locke, Dixon and Smith, but when Locke went down with an injury during Saturday’s game against Arkansas, Allen was given a chance to shine.

He didn’t disappoint, rushing for a team-high 46 yards on seven carries.

“I always said whenever I get my chance I would show I could run the ball — run it with explosion,” Allen said.

Explosive running is oddly one of the ways Allen got his nickname. Allen said that as a freshman at Holy Cross High School in New Orleans, he was standing on the sidelines with a group of teammates, including UK senior Dicky Lyons Jr., after rushing for five touchdowns in the game. Since most of the starters were pulled, they started to have a little fun on the sideline. A teammate pushed Allen’s head into his shoulder pads, making Allen look like a turtle hiding in its shell.

With that one little joke, a personality was born. So was a running style, one that defenders, even UK’s, hate to go up against.

“It’s my wide body and my height,” Allen said. “Most defenders in the SEC are taller, so it’s harder to get a handle on me.”

Given the season-ending knee injury to Locke and the nagging injuries that have haunted Dixon for much of the season, Brooks said Allen and Smith would handle a good portion of the rushing duties when UK heads to Gainesville, Fla., this Saturday.

“It doesn’t matter how we do it as long as I can contribute,” Smith said. “Whatever I have to do for our team to win.”

In addition to the losses on offense, Brooks said there’s a chance that defensive starters Micah Johnson, David Jones, Braxton Kelley and Marcus McClinton could miss the Florida game. Brooks ruled out senior defensive tackle Myron Pryor for the game.

That could cause problems for UK’s defense, especially with Florida’s trademark trick plays — using Percy Harvin as a running back and the Tim Tebow jump-pass.

“We have to cover the tight end so when he jumps he’s not open,” Brooks said. “Ole Miss defended the tight end and then tackled Tebow in the backfield.”

In a normal battle, most people wouldn’t hedge their bets on the back of a turtle. But with UK running out of options, the Cats are looking to ride a Turtle Man into The Swamp.

“I think Arkansas was a momentum booster,” Smith said. “We need that going into Florida. They’re a very fast team.”