Shannon Sharpe Piles On Drew Allar After Penn State's Loss

Nightcap co-host offered some strong commentary.
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) runs the ball pressured by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jack Kiser (24) in the first half in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium.
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) runs the ball pressured by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jack Kiser (24) in the first half in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar did not have his best game and threw a crucial late interception in the Nittany Lions' Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame. It was as bad of a mistake in as big of a moment as one can find in college sports. The junior quarterback was emotional while facing the music and facing reporters in his postgame media availability and Penn State coach James Franklin expressed confidence that his player would handle this hardship in a first-class manner.

Shortly after this, Shannon Sharpe went on with Chad Ochocinco as the Nightcap crew reacted to the semifinal. And his commentary was not soft.

“Allar, Lord have mercy, he talking about, ‘well,I’m coming back to school," Sharpe said. "You should. As a matter of fact, you should ask can you come back for two more years and after next year, file for a medical redshirt so you can come back again.”

Allar was 12-for-23 and 135 yards in the loss. He was bailed out by defensive penalty calls on two other would-be interceptions against the Irish. There isn't anyone who can say with a straight face that he played particularly well on Thursday night. One would have to go all the way back to the last game he played—a quarterfinals win over Boise State to find an example of a stellar performance. That was the 13th win of Penn State's season and the three touchdowns he was responsible for ran his season total to 30 against eight interceptions.

College football has gotten a lot closer to professional football and the magnitude of the stage makes critiquing the athletes fair game. However, Sharpe's comments on Allar, who is 20 years old, ring a little more harsh than usual.

Probably something Allar should try to avoid consuming.


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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.