Penn State quarterback Drew Allar’s first start went quite well, and he’s been rewarded for it by the Big Ten.
Allar, a 6-foot-5, 243-pound sophomore from Medina, Ohio, has been named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the first of what Penn State fans hope will be multiple times.
🏈 #B1GFootball WEEKLY AWARDS 🏈
🔵 Offensive:@PennStateFball's Drew Allar
🔵 Co-Defensive:@IlliniFootball's Miles Scott; @GopherFootball's Tyler Nubin
🔵 Special Teams:@GopherFootball's Dragan Kesich
🔵 Freshman:@BoilerFootball's Dillon Thieneman➕ https://t.co/s74CUBHnQb pic.twitter.com/ykh5XHfhIx
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 5, 2023
The former five-star recruit went 21-29 for 325 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, highlighted by a 72-yard TD to KeAndre Lambert-Smith to open the scoring. Allar hit KLS for another score later in the game, this one from 12-yards in the third quarter. Allar’s last TD pass was to Florida State transfer Malik McClain— his first TD reception at PSU— more than midway through the fourth quarter.
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.
In 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.
The Athletic’s Audrey Snyder asked Allar about what the honor meant to him on a Zoom calls with reporters moments after the news was announced.
Although he’s honored, Allar is more worried about Penn State accomplishing its team goals.
“It’s really cool to win that type of award,” Allar said, chuckling, “but we always talk about with team success comes individual success, and I think that’s a credit to the whole team, because I wouldn’t be in that position without the offensive line first and foremost, because we go as they go. They had a really strong game last Saturday, and it was really good to see them go out and play and see a lot of guys get up in that rotation up front. I think the receivers, as a whole, did really well, so it wasn’t just me, it was the whole team, and that’s including defense and special teams, too.”
