2024 has the chance to be the fall and winter of Drew Allar and the expanded glow of a shining star ready to break out on the national stage for Penn State.
A potential Heisman candidate in his second full season as a starter, Allar has noticeably improved from a year ago and continues to advance his abilities in and out of the pocket.
Allar dropped 10 pounds in the offseason and looks more confident commanding first-year coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s offense.Â
Through three games, Allar owns the second-best passing efficiency rate in the country (218.34) and is one of five at the position to own a rating over 200.
Drew Allar ranks second nationally in passing efficiency pic.twitter.com/6SVtApYHVw
— Joel Haas (@Joel_Haas1) September 24, 2024
The only quarterback better than Allar is Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (219.44), who beat Allar and Penn State in the Peach Bowl. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (213.38), Texas freshman phenom Arch Manning (205.29), and Miami QB Cam Ward (204.94) round out the top five. Dart and Ward have achieved the feats in four matchups, one additional game than the other three.Â
Penn State begins Big Ten play 3-0 following wins over West Virginia, Bowling Green, and Kent State.
Allar ranks 12th in points responsible per game (20), the highest of any Big Ten quarterback. He’s completing 70.7% of his passes, 14th in college football, and is responsible for 10 touchdowns.Â
The difference from 2023 to 2024 is Allar’s growth in the pocket, paird with more shots down field. The junior from Medina, Ohio, owns 729 passing yards, 243 yards per game and eight tohchdowns compared to one pick. He’s been sacked three times, twice against Bowling Green.Â
Kotelnicki continues to utilize Allar in the ground game and is averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Now, the real test begins. Conference play begins Saturday night in a top-20 shutdown against No. 19 Illinois. Penn State will play three currently ranked Big Ten teams, Illinois and No. 3 Ohio State on Nov. 2. PSU faces No. 13 USC at the LA Colisum in three weeks.
Last season, Allar completed only 43% of pass attempts for 191 yards and one touchdown in a 20-12 loss at Ohio State. Michigan ran the football 32 times in a row and controlled the pace of the game, without head coach Jim Harbaugh, when PSU lost 24-15 at Beaver Stadium in November. Allar didn’t turn the football over in either contest but threw for 70 yards against the eventual national champions. He totaled the second-worst completion percentage of his career (43.5%), behind Ohio State.Â
It’s a new year and a new opportunity for Allar to prove his struggles are in the past. Saturday night is another chance for Allar to prove he’s worthy of being dubbed one of the best QBs in the country.
