Drew Allar looks back on freshman season at Penn State

Story posted December 31, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Alex Rocco

Saturday marked the first time Penn State’s 2022 class met with the media and most of the attention went to Drew Allar.

Allar committed to the Nittany Lions in March of 2021, and the spotlight has been on him ever since.

The fanbase exalted the Medina, Ohio, native as the “savior of Penn State football,” but he never let the pressure of 107,000 get to him.

“The expectations are cool, but nobody has higher expectations for me than myself,” Allar said. “I have a lot of goals and aspirations I want to achieve throughout my life, and I’m just super excited that I came here. I feel like this place can really help all of us achieve our goals and aspirations.”

Allar noted being at the Rose Bowl in his freshman campaign is a “Surreal moment,” and while he’s not expected to play, he’s excited to support Sean Clifford in his final game.

However, Allar is used to backing up Clifford, being named the backup days before the season opener against Purdue.

The true freshman wasn’t supposed to see the field against the Boilermakers, but that’s not what happened. Clifford went down with an injury midway through the game, and Allar was thrust into the limelight.

He completed two of his four passes for 26 yards, and while the sample size was small, his potential shined brightly. 

“I think it definitely prepared me for the rest of the season because being a backup quarterback, you're always one play away from going in, and that's how you have to treat it,” Allar said. You have to prepare as if you’re the starter because you have to be ready when your name is called.” 

He added that moment helped prepare him for the rest of the campaign and his future in Happy Valley.

Allar is expected to lead a very inexperienced quarterback room next season, pairing with redshirt freshman Beau Pribula and incoming freshman Jaxon Smolik.

The young signal-caller dominated at Medina High school throwing for 4,444 yards in his senior season before enrolling early at Penn State.

Allar mentioned it took him some time to adjust to the collegiate level, but the spring practices helped him grow as a player.

“I’m glad I enrolled early,” Allar said. “That was a huge step for me personally, and I know the other early enrollees can say the same thing. Just from a developmental standpoint, being able to get into Penn State early and get acclimated to classes and winter workouts and spring ball, that was a huge step for all of us. How we worked as a class and how the upperclassmen helped all of us benefited all of us.”

Allar credited a lot of his early success to offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.

Yurcich played an instrumental role in getting Allar to Happy Valley, and he’s helped his budding star grow tremendously in his 11 months on campus.

“He’s the same guy that recruited me out of high school,” Allar said. “I’m definitely glad I came here because he pushes all of us in the room. He’s very demanding of us, and that’s what I really liked about him throughout the recruiting process. I wanted to go somewhere where I would be pushed.”

Allar also wanted to soak up knowledge from Clifford, a fellow Ohio native.

The veteran quarterback helped Allar learn the playbook and attack different defensive schemes while passing down lessons from his six seasons of collegiate football.

“I can’t say enough things that Sean has done for me and the other quarterbacks,” Allar said. “It was about how to prepare as a starter, the do’s and don’ts, the ins and outs of what he would do differently and what he wouldn’t do differently. That benefited everyone in the room. We were able to grow and learn from that.

As the season rolled on, the fans rallied for Allar to replace Clifford, but he said that he  wasn’t aware of any of that and noted Clifford “did a great job with everything that was thrown his way this year.”

The 6-foot-5 freshman played in nine contests completing 35 of 59 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 52 yards and a score.

In his Beaver Stadium debut, Allar fired his first two career touchdown passes against the Ohio Bobcats, and his next two touchdowns came on the road against Indiana.

Allar flashed his rocket arm, but as the campaign progressed, he settled into his own and started to be more vocal with the offensive line and in the huddle.

James Franklin wanted to get Allar as many reps as possible, and his doing so allowed the freshman to develop and get more comfortable.

While fans wanted to see Allar start, his 2022 season positioned him to take over the room in 2023 and lead the Nittany Lions.

“The more experiences you get in anything, like in life, you’re going to get better at it, and you’re going to get more comfortable at it,” Allar said. “So I’m glad I was able to play as much as I did, and I’m glad at how the season has turned out so far.”

Alex Rocco is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email alex.rocco1702@gmail.com.