Believe it or not, itโs possible for a player to want success too much, so is this the case with Penn State QB Drew Allar?
This question was asked to Allarโs QB coach, Danny OโBrien, after practice Tuesday evening.
In all facets of life, wanting something badly can be a detriment.
Whether itโs in sports, dating, work etc., there is such a thing as โtrying too hard.โ
Since Penn Stateโs Orange Bowl/College Football Semifinal loss to Notre Dame, many have questioned if Allarโ a 6-foot-5, 236-pounder who has everything heโs needs physically to be a championship QBโ measures up on the mental side.
OโBRIEN ON ALLAR
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Drew Allar
Hereโs what OโBrien had to say about whether Allar wants success to a fault.
โItโs a great starting point when they want it that bad,โ he said. โItโs a lot easier to coach honing that in and keeping your poise and just doing your job and keeping it simple than the other way. Certainly, no one wants it more than him.โ
So what does this all mean?
Well, OโBrienโs answer indicates that, yes, Allar does โwant itโ badly and, yes, this can be a trait that, while overall positive, needs reigned in if it gets to a certain level.
But overall, itโs better to have to pull back than to teach somebody to love the game.
โTHE INTERCEPTIONโ
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – JANUARY 09: Quarterback Drew Allar #15 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts after throwing an interception during the Penn State Nittany Lions versus the Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Orange Bowl on January 9, 2025 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire)
Allar has thrown 10 interceptions in his college career but when somebody mentions โthe interception,โ every college football fan knows what theyโre referring to.
The pick happened in a 24-24 Orange Bowl with 33 seconds left.
Notre Dameโs Christian Gray made the play and set ND up with aโ no pun intendedโ golden opportunity to punch its national title game ticket.
Two plays later, Drew Allar threw an interception. pic.twitter.com/Behf8uHRgj
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 10, 2025
It did just that, with Mitch Jeter nailing a 40-yard field goal.
So Notre Dame went to the national title game and Penn State went home.
How long did it take before Allar and OโBrien could watch the play together?
โIโd say it wasnโt much more than a week,โ he said. โKind of decompressing. Again, loving him up in that moment and that next day, that flight home, kind of decompressing. Iโd say it was about a week or so before I was like โhey, letโs dig back into this filmโ and kind of continueโฆ start the 2025 journey.โ
Penn Stateโs 2025 journey begins Aug. 30 against Nevada at Beaver Stadium.
