How Penn State's Drew Allar Confronts Life in the Spotlight

LAS VEGAS | Among the side effects Drew Allar didn't anticipate as Penn State's starting quarterback was people saying he cost them money. Or asking him for money. Or finding him on Venmo.

"Honestly, that was the one thing that has always caught me off guard," Allar said. "Like, I didn't expect that part as a starting quarterback in college."

Allar enters his third year as Penn State's starter as one of the country's most-analyzed players. He returned to Penn State with every the "unfinished business" theme that every player who falls short of a championship carries. Allar used the phrase often Wednesday at Big Ten Football Media Days, where the scrutiny centered on his past far more than the future.

Allar spent much of his interview sessions answering questions about three 2024 games: vs. Ohio State during the regular season, vs. Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game and vs. Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals. He answered every question gracefully, another word he used to describe his public approach.

Allar also was asked how often people tell him that he, personally, cost them money. "Actually, a lot," he said. Then the quarterback described a component of his life as Penn State's starting quarterback few get to see.

"I mean, I'l go back home and people will be like, 'Oh yeah, I got $1,000 on you to win the Heisman,'" Allar said. "I'm like, 'OK, why do I need to know that?' I don't necessarily need to know that. But that side of things can bring out some ugly interactions. I've definitely had some things that I'm questioning, I don't know how people can do that to you."

Allar said that people have found him on Venmo, asked him for money and leaked his phone number. They also have sought out his family and friends.

"They'll go after them, which is kind of the weird part," Allar said. "Maybe it doesn't necessarily make it to me, but they'll kind of go after people who around me. So it's definitely weird having those interactions. But I try to handle it as best as I can and as gracefully as I can."

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar walks off the field following the Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Allar has responded by bunkering in the Penn State football building this offseason, looking for ways to get better. He watched his interception against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl a handful of times, diagramming how to prevent "bad habits from showing up in the most critical moment."

"I'm very self-reflective about how I go about my process and meeting with coaches and just really deep-diving into throws that I missed, or maybe decisions I didn't really pull the trigger on and then really trying to understand why I did or didn't do those things," he said. "So it's been a really good offseason working on that, and I had a really good spring ball to work on those things. Going into fall camp, I definitely have those goals still written down to keep improving on those things."

Penn State coach James Franklin said Allar received first-round NFL Draft grades after last season but now has an opportunity to be a top-10 pick "if not higher than that." Franklin also said that he and Allar share a bond because of their places in the spotlight, which Allar handles professionally.

"I think there's probably the most similarities between being a head football coach at Penn State and being the quarterback at Penn State," Franklin said. "Other people think they understand what that's like, but until you're actually in that position, it's different. And every year, just in terms of his fundamentals or his strength or his speed, he's gotten better in how to handle that responsibility, the leadership, all of it."

As for how he deals with angry bettors, Allar answered the question bluntly but gracefully.

"I mean, not to be cruel, I don't care," he said. "That's their choice to make those decisions, whether they put money on us or not. So it's kind of on them. It's weird to say that, but it's definitely just weird with those sorts of things, just because sometimes there's no good way to handle it and it just becomes really awkward. So again, just trying to handle those things as gracefully as I can, and really just trying to limit all those distractions."

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