ESPN makes bold statement about Drew Allar and Penn State’s playoff pursuit
It is not difficult to find one of the biggest storylines following Penn State football heading into the start of the 2023 season, which will be approaching faster than you may realize. Drew Allar, the star quarterback in Penn State’s recruiting class in 2022, is positioned to take over the starting job at quarterback following the departure of Sean Clifford. He will do so with quite the burden of expectations placed on his shoulder pads.
ESPN college football insider Heather Dinich took a deep look at Penn State going into the upcoming season and explored why Allar could be the biggest difference maker between a program capable of going to and winning another New Years Six bowl game, and participating in the school’s first College Football Playoff. With an offensive line continuing to pad itself with quality depth and a running back tandem that could be among the best in the nation, Allar is viewed by many as the final piece of the puzzle to get Penn State over the final hurdles of cracking the playoff field.
And James Franklin seems to agree that quarterback is a big position where his teams have come up a bit short compared to teams that have made the playoff in the playoff era, more often than not,
“Although we’ve had some good ones here, that’s probably been the difference between us winning three New Year’s Six bowl games and getting into the playoff and winning a national championship, is having an elite quarterback that can make the plays that change games,” Franklin said in the story published by ESPN on Monday.
“People have compared us to some other programs, and you get that quarterback that changes your program and all of a sudden the next quarterback comes, and the next quarterback comes, and the next quarterback comes,” Franklin added. “Some of it is luck, and some of it is development and identification through the recruiting process.”
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Franklin has yet to formally announce who Penn State’s starting quarterback will be in the fall, but he isn’t exactly putting on a great poker face about this situation either. Allar was the first quarterback off the bench all last season when Clifford was given an early rest in a decided game or banged up at any moment. In all, Allar got into 10 games last season, starting with the season opener at Purdue and concluding in Penn State’s Rose Bowl victory following Clifford’s well-deserved curtain call.
Franklin has stressed there is ongoing competition throughout the roster and has refrained from suggesting any decisions have been made about the quarterback job, but all eyes are locked on Allar. And Allar is already aware that the 2023 season will need to be one where the Nittany Lions take another step forward rather than take any steps back following a Rose Bowl victory.
“We definitely want to build off that and not take a step back or be in the same place that we were last year,” Allar said in the ESPN story. “Guys recognize that and the talent we have from top to bottom on this team is definitely some of the best in the country.”
Read the full story on ESPN’s website.
