All eyes are on Penn State quarterback Drew Allar to take the next step and lead PSU to a national title.ย
Entering his senior year, Allar is a potential Heisman contender and unquestioned leader of PSUโs offense under second-year OC Andy Kotelnicki.
Fox college football analyst Joel Klatt has seen Allar on numerous occasions while calling Big Noon Kickoff against Michigan, Ohio State, and others. On The Joel Klatt Show, the lead analyst ranked his top 10 quarterbacks entering the season.
Klatt slots Allar as the No. 5 quarterback in the nation and best QB in the Big Ten.
Klatt ranks Clemson QB Cade Klubnik as the No. 1 passer in the country. Arch Manning (Texas), John Mateer (Oklahoma), Sam Leavitt (Arizona State) and Allar round out the top five.ย
Illinoisโ Luke Altmyer (No. 9) is the only other Big Ten quarterback on Klattโs list. Michigan star freshman Bryce Underwood and neither of Ohio Stateโs young QBs, Julian Sayin or Tavien St. Clair, cracked the top 10. Five of Klattโs best quarterbacks come from the SEC.
Allar returned to Penn State after guiding the team to the College Football Playoff semifinals, a 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in which Allar threw a costly interception inside Penn State territory in the final minute.ย
โThe way he handled it, I thought, was super professional,โ quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer said, serving as Allarโs backup in the CFP after Beau Pribula entered the transfer portal. โA young guy like me looking at that was cool to see how he dealt with it after the game.โ
Allar threw for 3,327 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 16 games last season. He added 96 rushing yards and six touchdowns to combine for 30 total scores during his junior year.ย
Allar started his career with an NCAA record 311 pass attempts without an interception. He completed 66.5 percent of his passes in 2024ย
For Penn State to take the final step towards winning a national championship, Allar probably needs to play well in the biggest games. Allar is 0-2 against Ohio State and played one of his worst games against Notre Dame. He has all the physical traits, but must put it all together to accomplish what many believe could be the best Penn State season since 1994 or 1982/86.
Penn State hosts Nevada Aug. 30 at Beaver Stadium to begin the 2025 football season.
