Keenan Allen leads the San Diego Chargers with 957 yards and is a frontrunner for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he very nearly quit football before the start of the season.

"'I need help. I'm losing. I'm about to quit,'" Allen recalled Wednesday in the locker room. "(I wasn't) living up to my expectations of starting. I've never been a role player-type guy. Not easy at all. ... I've never had to do it before. I never had to adjust."

Allen's productive three-year career at Cal ended in October 2012 with a knee injury.

Allen unexpectedly became a third round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Allen saw zero offensive snaps in a season-opening loss by the Chargers to the Houston Texans.

"After I didn't play after that first game, I was about another snap away of not playing from quitting," Allen said.

Allen would have returned to Berkeley to finish his degree.