Penn State's Drew Allar Headed in the Right Direction
A theme weaves through Drew Allar’s first season as Penn State’s quarterback. During training camp, his decision-making led to a remarkable streak of 13-14 practices without a turnover-worthy play. He still has yet to turn over the ball in a 5-0 start while navigating through a couple uneven first halves of blowout victories. That theme? Poise.
When talking about Allar, Penn State coaches have said things like “steady Eddie,” “patient” and “consistent,” to name a few. Allar’s offense is lacking explosive plays, and everyone knows it. But Allar has handled growing pains well, which he demonstrated in an impressive two-minute drive heading into halftime at Illinois.
“He's done a really good job thus far just taking what the defense has given him, being patient," said Mike Yurcich, Penn State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. "Hasn't really forced the ball, which a lot of times with the young quarterback, you tend to see that happening. And he hasn't done that. Hasn't played perfect by any stretch, but has shown really good progress, and I like where he's headed.”
Allar’s first game was an eye-opener with 325 yards and three touchdowns against West Virginia on 72.4 percent passing. His highest yardage since then is 208 against Illinois, while he threw four touchdowns against Iowa on just 166 yards. Allar ranks 51st nationally with a 141.41 passer efficiency rating (the same stat as passer rating, used for college football). That’s an objectively good number but a fair bit lower than some of the star-power quarterbacks in the country. Yet Allar also leads the nation in attempts without an interception (158).
"He just wants the offense to run well and he wants to grade out well," Penn State coach James Franklin said, "which is following out his fakes after he hands the ball off, making the throws that he should be, making the adjustments to the protections in the run game all those types of things. He wants to play well."
A wide receiving corps Yurcich called a “work in progress” has likely contributed to Allar’s numbers. KeAndre Lambert-Smith has stepped up well as the No. 1 option, Harrison Wallace III has been banged up at No. 2 and the rest of the group has been inconsistent. The group’s timing with Allar resulted in some drops and miscommunications against Northwestern, which Yurcich noted.
“It's a big concern with me right now and to us as staff. We've got to remedy that fast,” Yurcich said. “We've got to be on point with our landmarks and our depths of routes and our timing. That is something that we're going to address, and that is a big issue we have to clean up.”
Allar’s official page on Penn State’s website lists him at 242 pounds, though Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey said Allar is playing at 235 pounds right now. Losey mentioned the ideal range for Allar’s weight lands between 234 and 239 pounds. The number is fluid, but Losey expects Allar to stay there because he’s “a naturally big kid.” Losey added that Allar arrived at Penn State with a relatively low training background compared to what’s available at Penn State yet has “exploded in all areas.” The weight gain is solid, while speed is the one thing Losey tabbed as a point of emphasis moving forward.
“What I like about Drew is, Drew doesn't shy away from any type of work, regardless of the type of training we're doing in [the weight room] or out on the field,” Losey said. “He wants to train heavy. He wants to train hard, he wants to train aggressive and he lets me train him that way, and I love that. He doesn't kick, he doesn't buck. I love it. I'm super happy with Drew.”
The key for young quarterbacks is often understanding the “why” behind the on-field decisions, as Yurcich alluded to this week. As Penn State gets closer to needing Allar at his full potential, Yurcich is encouraged despite some slow offensive starts.
“There's always going to be the question of why. 'Why did you go there? What were you thinking?'” Yurcich said. “The conversations that you don't want to hear, or the comments you don't want to hear are 'I don't know' and 'I'm not sure,' and that's not happening [with Allar]. He's got really good reasons for the why behind everything that he does. So right now, we're on track and like where we're headed in that regard.”
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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.
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