Drew Allar is ready for his second act as Penn State’s QB1: ‘He’s settled in’ (2024)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Drew Allar lofted the ball down the far sideline, uncorking the kind of shot play many wanted to see more of from Penn State’s starting quarterback last year.

The ball was perfectly placed and one of Allar’s receivers ran under it and hauled in what would’ve been a touchdown. It was just one throw on the practice field in the middle of August. There was no threat of a pass rush and no defense to read. In the story of this season for No. 8 Penn State, one practice rep in which Allar should’ve and did pass the eye test — and made it look effortless while doing so — might not even mean anything.

But a scout from the Pittsburgh Steelers and a consultant with the Carolina Panthers both stood on the sideline and scribbled notes. It was a reminder that this throw and every moment big and small for Allar this season will be dissected.

“When you come in with external expectations that are that high, can you imagine what the internal expectations you have for yourself are?” Penn State center Nick Dawkins said of his quarterback. “Now, you get that first year out of the way, you settle in, you know who your crowd is. … He’s more comfortable, confident, mature. He’s settled in.”

To see what the scout’s handwritten words read would give one a glimpse into Allar’s NFL potential. An exit after this season for the NFL Draft is far from a given for the 6-foot-5, 235-pound quarterback, but it is his third season on campus and his second as the starter. Allar’s blue-chip pedigree, where he was five-star prospect in the 2022 class, is a reminder of what he still could be this season. But the struggles of Penn State’s offense last year and the coordinator change that came with it is a harsh reminder that success for what should be, at least on paper, one of the most talented offenses in the Big Ten isn’t automatic.

Whether Allar leads Penn State to the College Football Playoff or if the Nittany Lions’ first-round quarterback draft drought continues (Kerry Collins in 1995 was PSU’s last first-round QB) are questions open to interpretation. Maybe Allar will slot in somewhere between the two extremes. Or maybe a fresh start for this entire offense is what they all needed?

“I’ve been through a lot of things last year,” Allar said this week. “I think I’ve done a great job of learning from it. What I did good, what I didn’t do so good and how to improve upon it. I’m more comfortable now than I have ever have been. … We’re really in a good spot as an offense.”

After a season in which Allar completed 233-of-389 passes (59.9 percent) for 2,631 yards and 25 touchdowns to two interceptions, some opposing coaches aren’t sure what to make of him. There were moments in Detroit, in College Park and last year against West Virginia and Iowa where Allar looked the part. There were other times, notably in the biggest games against Ohio State, Michigan and Ole Miss, where blanketed receivers and an inefficient offense left everyone baffled. Was he too scared to make a mistake, or was the offense so disjointed that what transpired last year shouldn’t even be taken into account?

One Big Ten position coach, granted anonymity in exchange for his candor, praised Allar’s arm, which he described as “electric.” He thinks he’ll be playing on Sundays in due time. Another coach, a Big Ten defensive assistant, said Allar was “impressive looking in warm-ups,” but after that he was unsure.

“He really struggled in the big games. Looked very tight,” the defensive assistant said. “Can they get him to settle down? I don’t know if they were asking him to do too much (under previous OC Mike Yurcich) or he was trying to be perfect. I’m not sold on him.”

This isn’t the discourse Penn State fans expected to have about the coveted quarterback ahead of his junior season. After that practice throw this month, Allar jogged to the back of the line, popped off his helmet and smiled as he chatted with head coach James Franklin and quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien. With the faint line of a mustache growing on his upper lip, Allar no longer looks like the same baby-faced prospect who signed with Penn State as a 17-year-old.

Teammates said they noticed Allar’s growth as a leader this offseason. He regularly met with his receivers and has been vocal, making sure they know where he’s going to put the ball and also that his coaches know which plays he’s most comfortable running. His growth as a leader was reaffirmed this month when he was named a team captain.

“I’m always going to be a lead-by-example type guy first,” Allar said. “That’s just kind of how I’m wired. I’ll put the work in and less talk, just go out and do the work and perform. But, I’ve wanted to be that vocal leader for the team. I wanted to be on the same page as all the players and then be that communicator between all the players and the coaching staff.”

Allar has also forged a strong relationship with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Until interviewing for the job in December, Kotelnicki said he had only seen highlights of Allar on SportsCenter or X. While Kotelnicki, 42, marvels at how few early 2000s movie quotes all his quarterbacks don’t know — most weren’t even born until 2003 — Allar’s ability and maturity struck Kotelnicki as soon as he started watching his film.

“His wittiness, his decision making, those kinds of things are really hard to coach and they’re very, very evident when you watch him right away,” Kotelnicki said. “His character, his want to get better and growth is next level. It’s second to none that I’ve worked with.”

Allar knows he will have lots of eyes on him and this offense this season. He feels the stares when he navigates campus. Trying to grab a meal with his family in State College after games has become more complicated, too. When he returned home to Medina, Ohio, in May he went to visit his high school football coach, Larry Laird. Laird greeted him at the school’s back door.

Even in the heart of Ohio State country, the return of the school’s most prolific quarterback could be a distraction for the high schoolers.

“People gawk or they want to talk to him. And it’s nothing bad, but I told him, that’s the price of fame,” Laird said. “It’s not gonna get better.”

Last fall, Allar’s phone number was leaked the week of the Ohio State game. This season, he said he logged off X and will let his agents handle any posts that need to be shared. Avoiding social media was a lesson learned last season, too.

“I remember coach Franklin kind of telling me to probably do that last year, and I was probably a little bit late to that,” Allar said. “I don’t think you really realize what it’s like going through that until you actually go through that. … Some people will come up to me and tell me I was in their one class spring semester, and it’s kind of cool having those interactions.”

As Allar sat in Laird’s office for nearly three hours this spring, the quarterback and the coach marveled at how quickly the last few years have gone. Laird, who is 6-foot-4, found Allar towering over him when he hugged him. He insists his prized pupil, who now looks more like a man than the teen he coached, has grown again. Franklin said Allar lost about 10 pounds this offseason and is moving well. That’s something Penn State will need in Kotelnicki’s offense: for Allar to do just enough mobility-wise to pose a threat to defenses.

Laird had a front-row seat for last season’s offensive ups and downs. He was in Beaver Stadium when Allar made his first start against West Virginia. Allar remembers seeing the packed crowd an hour before kickoff and the roar they made when he was announced as the starter. Laird was also in Columbus last fall seated in the second row when the Penn State offense sputtered against Ohio State and the Nittany Lions’ receiving corps was blanketed.

In 36 years of coaching, Laird has never had someone who can deliver the football like Allar. He knows the turbulence of last season and the discourse in the court of public opinion that comes with being a five-star prospect won’t stop this year, either. The attention from scouts and a team with a shot to make the College Football Playoff all hinge on Allar also taking this next step.

“He’s really done everything right,” Franklin said. “He’s always been a really good preparation guy in terms of being in the building, studying the installs, watching a ton of tape, asking great questions. … When you keep punching the clock and keep doing the right things, you get better, and you gain confidence, you gain experience, the game starts to slow down for you.”

(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)

Audrey Snyder has covered Penn State since 2012 for various outlets, including The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Patriot-News and DKPittsburghSports. Snyder is an active member of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) and is the professional adviser for Penn State’s student chapter. Follow Audrey on Twitter @audsnyder4