'Never seen a transformation like it.' How Drew Allar keeps improving Penn State football
Drew Allar is going home, so to speak, to lead Penn State football in the biggest game of his quarterback life.
Allar grew up an Ohio State Buckeyes' fan and attended games. He lived and played his high school football in Medina, Ohio, less than a two-hour drive from Columbus.
He acknowledged the special attraction and attention of trying to beat his childhood team during a Tuesday teleconference with reporters ahead of sixth-ranked Penn State's battle Saturday at No. 3 Ohio State. He smiled and brushed it off quickly, though − all the high-stakes chatter around this match-up of undefeated, Top 10 teams.
He said his parents will handle all of the ticket requests and inquiring entourage of family and friends as he must focus on the work at-hand — his goal of improving incrementally from last week, and the week before that, all to help Penn State beat the Buckeyes for just the second time in 12 years.
A noon kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at the Horseshoe.
Home-state jitters? That's the last thing Penn State coach James Franklin said he seemed concerned about — at least until the question kept appearing.
"I wasn’t going to talk to him, but this is my third interview today and everybody, obviously, is talking to him like that," Franklin said. "So, I’m going to talk to him. We don’t really do things like that, but I am going to have a conversation."
The quarterbacks will be the intriguing, even somewhat mysterious focus Saturday. Ohio State first-year starter Kyle McCord went to high school in Philadelphia — and was a Penn State recruiting priority.
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While McCord and the Buckeyes beat ranked Notre Dame on the final play a few weeks ago, neither of Saturday's starting QBs has faced the kind of defense he will now.
The Lions rank first nationally in passing defense (121.2) and total defense (193.7) as well as second in rushing defense (72.5) and scoring defense (8.0). The Buckeyes rank fourth, seventh, 22nd and third in those categories, respectively.
Even more: Allar has been far less productive in his two road starts (at Illinois, Northwestern) than in four home games this season.
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No matter, Franklin said his sophomore quarterback continues to improve by the week, often in ways not easily detected or understood by fans and media types. Such as how Allar is improving his game film study and preparation each week.
And, of course, how he continues to protect the football on the field. Allar still has not thrown an interception in his 241 career passing attempts dating back to last season. In that span he has tossed 16 touchdown passes while accumulating 1,598 yards and completing over 60 percent of his throws.
“You spend your whole career trying to get quarterbacks to take checkdowns," Franklin said. "Every quarterback wants to throw the corner route or the go-route or the post. Who’s throwing checkdowns in their backyard, right?
“So we got a young kid starting for the first time and we can call those (big pass) plays and he’ll take the checkdown. To me, he’s doing a really good job of keeping the main thing, the main thing. Which is protecting the football, trying to create explosive plays when there, but not forcing them."
It's possible Allar's interception-free streak is the longest to start a college career ever. The NCAA does not have definitive historical data on that statistic.
“The key thing, at the end of the day, is taking what the defense gives you, don’t take unnecessary risks with the football.
"We can say all we want about taking shots down the field ... (but) I’m not going to throw it into harm’s way and get our receiver lit up or allow the defense to have a free interception."
Allar's maturation and overall improvement still seem stunning, especially when considering how he was no more than a big-bodied, mid-range prospect when his recruitment began as a high school sophomore. He eventually grew into arguably the top quarterback recruit in the nation. The magic in it, Franklin noted, was how Allar embraced the personal training work of QB guru Brad Maendler, particularly during the COVID shutdown.
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“His transformation …," Franklin said, then paused. "I’ve never seen a transformation like it. Honestly, I didn’t really believe in it. I’ve always been a believer that you can really improve quarterbacks, 90 percent of the time, through their footwork and their timing and anticipation and pre-snap understanding of a defense. That’s where you can really help quarterbacks.
“But Brad’s ability (along) with Drew’s commitment and work ethic ... his transformation is crazy and just continued. He just kept getting better."
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football: How James Franklin, Drew Allar battle Ohio State
