All 105 is a Nittany Sorts Now Series profiling each Penn State football player. In this edition, we will be profiling second-year quarterback Drew Allar.
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 243 pounds
Hometown: Medina, Ohio
Before Penn State: A five-star quarterback, Allar went from a solid recruit to one who many see as a “can’t miss” prospect in his senior year.
Allar’s 2021 numbers are ridiculous; 4,444 yards, 48 touchdowns and a 60-percent completion rate, leading Medina to a 13-1 record and berth in the state quarterfinals.
Allar committed to Penn State before his great senior season, and by the time he signed, any Penn State fan with any interest in recruiting knew his name. 247Sports’ site rankings had Allar as a five-star recruit, the No. 1 quarterback in the country and the No. 3 overall player from the class of 2022.
2022: Allar made an unexpected debut in Penn State’a season opener at Purdue, relieving Sean Clifford for a series. Allar went 2-for-4 with 26 yards. He made his Beaver Stadium debut the next weekend against Ohio, throwing his first two touchdown passes. Allar ended up appearing in 10 of Penn State’s 13 games, going 35-for-60 with 344 yards and four touchdowns.
Where he stands: James Franklin says it’s a quarterback competition, but everybody expects Allar to be the starter. Some Penn State fans wanted Allar starting over Clifford last season, but now, his time is coming.
A quote by Allar: “I think I handled it pretty well. Every game that I was able to get in, I was just trying to eliminate mistakes and have more positives. I feel like just learning from (Starting QB) Sean (Clifford) and (offensive coordinator/QBs coach) Mike Yurcich and coach (James) Franklin, everybody in the quarterback room. They helped all of us throughout the year. Just gain more positives and eliminate the negatives.” — Drew Allar to reporters at his first media availability ahead of the Rose Bowl
A quote about Allar: “He’s in a really good place… there’s a lot of things like that to be excited about. He’s also good in the meeting room. I think Sean Clifford really helped with that. So there’s a lot of things to be excited about but we have to build on it and take the next step.” — James Franklin to reporters on Allar at a media availability in June.
