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Drew Allar, Future Penn State QB, Tabbed SI's Freak of the Week
"Freak" is a term thrown around too much in the sports world, but sometimes, it's the first phrase that crowds the cranium when a gaudy athletic feat takes place.
What about an entire game's worth of head-turning and gasps?
SI All-American continues its salute to these dominant high school football players in a weekly feature, aptly titled 'Freak of the Week,' going out to a remarkable Friday night performance. This week, as several states begin or continue amid playoff football races, the performances were again gaudy.
This time of year it leans offense, which means a lot of quarterbacks were under consideration. But the game, and the season for that matter, Drew Allar is having cannot be ignored further.
The Penn State commitment is the Week 11 Freak of the Week.
Allar led Medina (Ohio) High School to its 12th straight win Friday, throwing for more than 300 yards and rushing north of 100 in a 45-14 win over Cleveland Heights. The future Nittany Lion has a staggering 44:4 touchdown to interception ratio and nine more scores have come on the ground for the 6' 5", 215-pound senior.
One throw from Friday had onlookers captivated in the 443-yard, 6-touchdown performance. He was flushed to his weak side, on the left, yet managed to show athleticism, anticipation and touch in a cross-body throw into the end zone to a streaking Brennen Schramm.
“It was an incredible throw,” Schramm told SBLive. “That just shows why he is the No. 1 quarterback in the nation. The stuff he can do is crazy.”
Allar is more humble about the game and his gaudy season to date, where he has completed 248 of 398 passes (62.3%) for 3,748 yards and 44 touchdowns. We have seen more out of the big passer's legs of late, rushing for 122 yards in the big playoff win Friday. For the season, he is at 497 yards and nine touchdowns, per the Elite 11.
"This year, the offensive coaches didn't have me running as much, but I think in the next couple of weeks I will need to run the ball more," Allar told Sports Illustrated. "This past Friday was kind of like me showcasing my mobility just because of the defense Cleveland Heights was running more of a true press-man. Their defense was really good, definitely the best group of DBs we've seen all year.
"It created lanes for me to take off with my legs and I thought I did a pretty good job picking up what I could, extending plays with my feet and making throws down field."
The stock-up senior, who was tabbed as a top five passer in the nation by SI before the banner 2021 campaign began, admits the Medina squad is getting the best shot of most opponents in 2021. The complex and varied defensive looks have pushed Allar and his teammates to the next level.
The Battling Bees have won 16 of their last 17 games dating back to the 2020 playoff run.
"I think it's the preparation my teammates and I put in throughout the week, I think it's really showing off right now," Allar said. "I guess I'm kind of seeing a little bit of everything, since we run a five-wide offense, so we get a lot of defensive looks. We can create so many mismatches and opportunities...so it puts pressure on defenses and makes my game fun."
Many college programs think Allar can be a fit for their offense at the next level, and some continue to call, but the Ohioan says he remains locked in with James Franklin's program. Committed since March, he also has little worry about the current Penn State coach's change of representation and status as a top candidate for some of the nation's coaching vacancies.
"I don't see him going anywhere, I know he doesn't want to be anywhere else besides Penn State," Allar said. "I don't look too much into it because I've talked to him, not about the rumors, but just in previous conversations with him I can tell the type of person he is and how much time and effort he has put into Penn State.
"So I don't see him going anywhere."
Allar and Medina High takes on Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius on Friday for the region championship.
2021 Freak of the Week Archive
Week 0 - Pike Road (Ala.) Quarterback Iverson Hooks
Week 1 - Port St. Lucie (Fla.) Running Back Eden James
Week 2 - Gautier (Miss.) Quarterback Kaden Irving
Week 3 - Millville (N.J.) Running Back LeQuint Allen
Week 4 - Santa Rosa Beach (Fla.) South Walton Tight End Pearce Spurlin III
Week 5 - Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military Quarterback Holden Geriner
Week 6 - Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei Quarterback Elijah Brown
Week 7 - St. Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood Defensive Back Terrell Crosby
Week 8 - Poulsbo (Wash.) North Kitsap Quarterback Colton Brewer
Week 9 - Tracy (Calif.) Kimball Quarterback Nicholas Coronado
Week 10 - Tiger (Ga.) Rabun County QB Gunner Stockton, Rockwall (Texas) QB Braedyn Locke
Have a Freak of the Week nominee? Tweet @SIAllAmerican or @SBLiveSports each weekend for a chance to be featured!
