Penn State's Drew Allar Finally Might Have the Receivers to Win a Title

Not that this rises to the level of Shakespeare, but there has always been an element of comedic tragedy when you consider that Penn State football waited ages for a quarterback with the skills of Drew Allar only to, for the first time in years, not have the wide receivers to support that skill. It appears this trend has changed.

To be sure, Allar throwing it around with Kyron Hudson and Trebor Pena against a team like Nevada does not turn him into Joe Montana. But both Hudson and Pena showed a reliability and confidence that Penn State’s wideout room lacked recently.

They showed the smoothness of Jahan Dotson, the hands of Parker Washington and the routes of Chris Godwin. Every conversation requires at least two people, and Allar and his tandem of targets did plenty of talking with their arms, hands and feet this past Saturday.

For Penn State, the challenge now is maintaining that chemistry and confidence. In recent years, both Trey Wallace and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, among others, showed flashes of what Penn State and Allar needed but were inconsistent.

Whatever shortcomings of his own Allar might have, that Penn State’s pass offense revolved almost entirely around a tight end last year wasn’t a glowing review of the receivers room, no matter how good Warren was. If Penn State had KJ Hamler on its roster against Notre Dame, it would have gotten him the ball.

And to give Penn State’s former receivers credit, or perhaps the benefit of the doubt, there’s nothing wrong with leaning on a first-round tight end. Then again, as much as Penn State nearly got to make the claim, national titles aren’t won without wideouts.

"They did a really good job today. Not only in the passing game... they did a great job in the run game."@PennStateFBall QB Drew Allar on his new WR corp @JennyDell_ spoke w/ the winning QB and coach James Franklin pic.twitter.com/thqv7E5SNG
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) August 30, 2025

What the numbers say about Drew Allar and his receivers

In the department of round numbers, Allar has made 30 starts at Penn State. Of note over those 30 starts, his leading target has been a wide receiver just 13 times. Against Big Ten teams, Allar’s leading receiver has been a wide receiver just six times, with games against Northwestern, Indiana, Maryland, Illinois and UCLA on that list. The lone quality team, Ohio State, allowed Lambert-Smith just 52 yards.

For comparison: In Sean Clifford’s final two seasons as Penn State’s quarterback, his leading receiver was a wide receiver 22 times. Other things of note: Allar has had a wide receiver go for 100+ yards just four times in his career. A lot of things play into this, but Dotson went for 100+ yards five times during his senior season. That number goes up to six if you give him double credit for 242 yards against Maryland.

“The passing game in general, that was an emphasis going into the season and an emphasis in game one,” James Franklin said following Penn State’s win over Nevada.

Scale of 1-10: What do you give this Kyron Hudson @PennStateFball catch 👀

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/cWNy8oDGFy
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 30, 2025

Penn State’s focus on its passing game this offseason isn’t a huge surprise with so many new faces, but offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki dialing up so many passes wasn’t automatic with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen waiting to run the ball. In fact, Allar’s 26 passing attempts is near the higher end of his career stats. He attempted more than 26 passes just five times last year and fewer than 25 nine times.

Therein lies the good news for Penn State fans. Allar has weapons on the ground, at tight end, and most importantly, at wide receiver. Sure, Allar will need to improve all on his own as well, and maybe it’s too early to say that Hudson and Pena will do what they did against Nevada when Oregon visits Sept. 27. But maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s time to get ready to see the Drew Allar you’ve been waiting for.

Penn State Nittany Lions wide receivers Kyron Hudson and Trebor Peña celebrate after a touchdown vs. Nevada. — Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Kyron Hudson (1) celebrates with wide receiver Trebor Peña (8) after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Nevada Wolf Pack at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

What the numbers say about Drew Allar and his receivers

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