For Penn State's Drew Allar, Poise Comes Naturally
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has proven to be "super-poised" during the first two games of his career, a trait that could earn the freshman more playing time soon.
Franklin said Tuesday that Allar, the former 5-star recruit, has grown substantially from the reps he played against Purdue and Ohio. While noting that Allar has "a lot of room for growth," Franklin said that the game already has slowed down for him.
"Obviously we all knew that he had the physical traits and skills to be successful," Franklin said at his weekly press conference. "But I think he’s done a really good job of [learning] how to prepare, how to study the game. And I think Sean [Clifford] has had a big impact on that, as well as obviously coach [Mike] Yurcich.
"But he’s done a nice job, and I think he’s already at a point where the game has slowed down to him a little bit, where he’s able to anticipate what’s going to happen from a coverage perspective or from a pressure perspective. And he’s doing some nice things that we’ve been able to build on and we’re going to need to continue to build on."
Allar, who earned the No. 2 role in training camp, is off to a strong start. He has completed 8 of 12 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. His efficiency rating, though the sample size is short, is 201.5.
Importantly, Allar has played two series with the first-team offense. He entered the game against Purdue in the second quarter, when Clifford left the field because of cramping, Franklin said. And against Ohio, Allar entered the game in the third quarter, but Franklin and Yurcich kept the remainder of the first-team offense on the field.
"Once we made the decision to move him to the No. 2 spot, his rep count has obviously increased, which is important and valuable," Franklin said. "And then obviously him being able to get reps in the first two games for different reasons has been valuable as well. He's still got a lot of room for growth, which is exciting, but obviously he’s doing some really good things."
Penn State visits Auburn on Saturday for a game whose reins likely will belong to Clifford. The fourth-year starter played his best career game against Auburn last season, completing 28 of 32 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown. He also has a career's worth of experience in high-profile road games.
However, Allar has proven himself worthy of reps.
"I think the biggest thing that I think jumps out to everybody is that he's just super-poised in there for a young kid," Franklin said after the Lions' 46-10 win over Ohio. "The game seems slow to him already. I think he's doing a really good job from a preparation standpoint.
"It also helps that he's 6-5 and 242 pounds, because he's bigger than half the guys chasing him. The fact that people are going to have to respect him and his own read game and things like that. He is no Trace McSorley, I'm not saying that, but he does enough to keep people honest in the quarterback running game off his own reads and stuff."
Auburn hosts Penn State at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. CBS will televise.
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