247Sports ranks Big Ten QBs for 2024; here is where Drew Allar ranks
Now that each Big Ten school, including the four incoming members, have wrapped up for the spring, all eyes are now locking in on the 2024 college football season. The post-spring evaluations have led to some changes in how media views various teams and conferences thanks to what has been observed during spring football practices and spring games and what roster turnover has gone down thanks to the transfer portal.
247Sports has put together its post-spring ranking of the quarterbacks around the Big Ten, and Penn State’s Drew Allar remains in a very positive position from a national perspective. Despite some struggles with consistency last year with the passing game, there is still a belief that Penn State has one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten going into the 2024 season.
247Sports ranked Allar as the second-best quarterback in the Big Ten for 2024 following the spring practice season. That is high praise considering what was observed last season and what little was able to be taken out of the spring game. But the combination of a year of experience as a starter under his belt and new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki breathes a sense of optimism into the air in Happy Valley.
“The passing attack did not generate enough explosive plays,” 247Sports noted in Allar’s ranking. “That is an area the program hopes new OC Andy Kotelnicki, the mastermind behind the Kansas Jayhawks’ success in recent years on that side of the football, sparks improvement. Allar has all the tools to be one of college football’s best.”
Penn State can help Allar out by getting more out of the wide receiver position, which has been a key area of focus this offseason. Penn State has been hit hard on the depth chart at the position since the end of last season with KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Dante Cephas each moving on through the transfer portal, and others entering the transfer portal. But Penn State has also added former Ohio State wide receiver Julian Fleming and will continue to see what it can pull from the transfer portal. Penn State is also hoping Kotelnicki will help put some other internal options in a better position to make some explosive plays.
The only school in a better quarterback spot for next season is Big Ten newcomer Oregon with Dillon Gabriel, a potential Heisman Trophy candidate in 2024. Penn State will not face Gabriel and the Ducks during the regular season this fall, although Penn State will face the other three new schools joining the Big Ten this season; (UCLA, USC, and Washington).
You can view 247Sports’ Big Ten QB rankings to see how the rest of the conference looks at the position in 2024.
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