Penn State's Drew Allar Maintains 'Strong Presence' Through Change
For Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, the next phase of his young career arrived early. Mike Yurcich, the former offensive coordinator who brought Penn State to Allar's attention more three years ago, won't be in the booth Saturday when the Nittany Lions host Rutgers. That's a lot of change for a 19-year-old quarterback to process. So far, teammates said, Allar confronted the situation positively.
"I think that Drew has always handled adversity and challenges very well, since from when he was a freshman," Penn State tight end Theo Johnson said. "I'm confident that he's going to take this change in stride, and whoever we have come in to coach him next is going to have a really great quarterback at their disposal."
The Lions returned to practice Tuesday with two new offensive coordinators. Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider and tight ends coach Ty Howle will share responsibilities for the remainder of the season. The biggest change comes for the quarterbacks, whom Yurcich also coached. James Franklin informed Allar, Beau Pribula and Jaxon Smolik first about his decision to fire Yurcich with two games remaining in the regular season. At practice Sunday, teammates said, Allar kept a level head.
"Drew, he's a young guy. I think everybody knows that. It’s not a secret," center Hunter Nourzad said. "But I think, for his age, he carries himself very maturely and with a lot of confidence. But at the same at the same time, he’s not arrogant or anything. For such a young age he’s extremely humble but he does have confidence in his abilities. I wouldn’t say that anything has changed about that. He’s always had that strong presence."
Allar, who threw for a season-low 70 yards against Michigan, also has a tendency to shoulder fault, even when it's not his. Nourzad said Allar has never blamed another position group for on-field mistakes. That has given Allar a leadership platform even at 19.
"He takes ownership for more things than he probably should, to be honest with you," Nourzad said. "I think that’s a really mature attribute that he holds. But he also doesn’t come in gloomy. He’s not moody. He just comes in with an attitude ready to fix those things and just get onto the next week."
As for the team's mood, Johnson said he has been encouraged. The tight end was emotional after Penn State's 24-15 loss to Michigan, saying, "I let a lot of people down." But Johnson said the players have demonstrated a spirit of bouncing back.
"So far I've been pretty pleased with where everyone's at," Johnson said. "I think that our practice today, it'll really show where we are. We've overcome a lot of adversity this year. And people in this offense overcame a lot of adversity. So I'm confident that moving forward, we're not going to waver, we're not going to flinch. And we're just going to keep fighting for it."
Added Nourzad, "The main thing is that we’re just going to keep going. We’re focused on winning this week. Especially within our position groups, our process doesn’t really change.
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Ja'Juan Seider, Ty Howle take over as offensive coordinators for Penn State
Penn State fires offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich
Drew Allar struggles against Michigan. The coaches' gameplan didn't help
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