Penn State QB Drew Allar knows he could have been better in Saturday’s 34-0 win over Florida International.
His coach, James Franklin, also knows that.
Allar told reporters Saturday that he felt overthinking was an issue.
‘Not Good Enough’ : Penn State QB Drew Allar Critical of Performance Post-FIU
Two days later, Franklin was asked about that during his weekly press conference.
Franklin didn’t speak much to whether Allar was or wasn’t overthinking.
But he did say that he felt Allar held onto frustration too long.
WHAT FRANKLIN SAID
“I think what happens for all these guys, we’ve talked about it in all my end-of-the-year meetings, it’s a really important trait and skill for guys to learn, is next play (mentality),” Franklin said. “No matter what happens the previous play, positive or negative, you must move on. You must move on to the next one. And I think a couple of times where that happened, where you miss a really easy throw that he makes 99.9% of the time, and that frustrates you, and if you’re not careful, that will linger. So I thought that happened early in the game.
Franklin felt Allar got “frustrated” more than once and let that frustration linger.
He also acknowledged that it’s hard not to let tough moments stick for players who have so much passion for the game, and later used RB Nick Singleton as another example.
“I think what happens is, when you have people that have invested the amount that a guy like Drew and most of our team have invested, that’s easier said than done to move onto the next play and not get frustrated and upset with yourself,” Franklin said. “But that’s why it’s such an important trait to learn. No matter what happens the previous play, you have to flush it and you have to move onto the next play, and each play is kind of its own entity. You have to make sure you’re maximizing it. The only way to maximize it is to be present. You can’t live in the past. You can’t live in the future. You must be present.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.This is an issue Allar has talked about before.
THERMOSTATS AND THERMOMETERS
Last August, when Allar was entering his second season as a starting quarterback, he used an interesting analogy.
“We talk about being a thermostat vs. a thermometer,” Allar said, “and I think, as a quarterback room, we’re doing a really good job of that,” he said. “When something doesn’t go right, we’re going to get guys back rallied and ready to go, and it’s been paying off because in my first two years here, I don’t think we really had that…
“I kind of dwelled on things when things didn’t go my way. “I think I’ve done a better job of learning how to flush that, and then whenever I go back and watch the film, just learning from that. So, I think that’s the biggest thing that we’ve taken a step in as an offense through these past four or five practices. So it’s just been cool to see.”
Thermostats and Thermometers: Penn State QB Drew Allar Learning not to Dwell When Things go Wrong
But words from Allar, Franklin and even Big Ten Network sideline reporter Rhett Lewis suggest that this is still a battle for Allar more than a year later.
“Coming off the field on the first half, like I didn’t play as good as I wanted to play,” Allar said afterward. “I just knew I had to come into half and reset and flush it. And I think we did a good job of the first two drives coming out of half and putting up points on the board. Just got to be more consistent throughout the game. And that really starts with me. I kind of killed our momentum at times throughout the first half.”
During the game, Lewis broke down what he saw after Allar took a sack that forced Penn State to settle for a field goal late in the first half.
“There was a little bit of a head-down kind of mentality here,” Lashlee told the viewers at home. “Some frustration perhaps setting in.”
No. 2 Penn State takes on Villanova Saturday at 3:30 in Beaver Stadium. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
