To day there is a lot riding on Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and his performance this season has been well publicized at this stage of the offseason. Allar is entering his second season as Penn State’s starting quarterback and he went through some highs and lows in his first season in the leading role. Now, with a new offensive coordinator to work with, Allar is once again facing some high expectations this fall. How he performs will be in the spotlight and Penn State’s success this season will likely fall in sync with how Allar performs.
That is what makes Allar one of college football’s most intriguing quarterbacks this 2024 college football season according to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated. Forde recently ranked the 25 most intriguing quarterbacks in college football for the new season, and Allar came in at no. 13 on the list.
“He’s gone from heralded recruit to popular backup to a starter who couldn’t hit the high notes when the Nittany Lions needed it most in big games,” Forde writes. “Now comes the next act as a doubted incumbent. New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is charged with helping both Allar and head coach James Franklin polish up some lost luster.”
Forde goes on to highlight the biggest areas of concern for Allar form last season, which not so coincidentally popped up in each of Penn State’s three losses last season.
“His completion accuracy in losses to Michigan, Ohio State and Mississippi was a brutal 45% with a receiving corps that frankly didn’t help him out much,” Forde says. “Penn State was in the bottom half of a not-very-explosive Big Ten in passing plays of 20 yards or longer; will that improve in 2024?”
The lack of explosiveness in the passing game is easy to place squarely on Allar, but there could have been more done at the receiver position as well, if not the playcalling by former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. The hope is Andy Kotelnicki, who came to Penn State following some success recreating the Kansas offense, will help Allar hit that next level. Allar will still need to get some big plays from his receivers, however. The performance of Allar is a big talking point this season, but so is the performance of the wide receiver group.
You can see Forde’s full list of the 25 most intriguing college football quarterbacks for the 2024 season via Sports Illustrated.
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