Drew Allar is best known for his right arm—the appendage that knocked Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III out of the NCAA record books because it threw no interceptions in his first 311 passing attempts for Penn State.
But credit Allar’s left arm—unleashed late in the Nittany Lions’ season-opening win over West Virginia—for delivering a blow that not only flattened a Mountaineer defender but also declared the quarterback is on track for some special things in 2024 and beyond.
Early in the fourth quarter on Aug. 31 in Morgantown, Allar took a shotgun snap on third-and-3, tucked the ball into his right arm, and started angling around right tackle on a draw. To get the first down, he had to prevent West Virginia linebacker Josiah Trotter from dragging him down, so he stiff-armed Trotter in the face and plunged for the first down near the Penn State sidelines.
When he arose, Allar shared his bliss with Trotter and the Mountaineers by offering them a few choice words.
Nobody in the Penn State program had seen any of that from the 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior quarterback. At least, not in a real game.
“He shouldn’t look the same,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said. “He shouldn’t behave the same. There should be growth. There should be more confidence. There should be more swagger, because he’s earned that, right? Confidence is something you earn.
“That stiff arm was a credit to our strength and conditioning program, but it’s also a credit to Drew and the work that he has put in. And I also think for that to happen on our sideline, and for our sideline to see that, to see him make a play like that that we have not seen in the past, and then to react the way he reacted, was really pretty cool.”
To Franklin’s point, Allar worked diligently in the weight room during the offseason and dropped seven pounds to increase his mobility—one of his shortcomings while directing Penn State to a 10-3 record and a Peach Bowl berth in 2023.
At the same time, he recognized there’s value in occasionally letting down his guard and sharing his emotions with his teammates and the crowd.
“The biggest thing for me was leadership-wise, being myself and not trying to be who I’m not,” Allar said in a podcast interview during spring ball. “Obviously, I’m not the most vocal guy in the world. I’m still working on that because you have to be that as a quarterback. But I think just letting my competitive side and emotional side come out a little more this year (is important).”
While the stiff arm certainly exemplified that emotion, Allar’s right arm will always be his moneymaker.
Through two games in new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnecki’s system, Allar has completed 24 of 37 passes (64.9 percent) for 420 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. His efficiency rating of 199.4 ranked 10th nationally after Week 2. By contrast, last year’s rating of 136.9 ranked 58th.
If Allar continues to grow through the Big Ten season, which begins with a visit from Illinois on Sept. 28, he’ll deserve to rise on the NFL draft boards.
According to NFLMockDraftDatabase.com, Allar stacks up as the seventh-best quarterback eligible for the 2025 draft, trailing Georgia’s Carson Beck, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Miami’s Cameron Ward, Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, and ranks as the No. 50 prospect overall.
A Penn State quarterback hasn’t been drafted that early since Christian Hackenberg went No. 51 to the New York Jets in 2016 (and went on to take a grand total of zero snaps in the NFL). No Nittany Lions QB has gone top-50 since Kerry Collins was the fifth overall selection in 1995.
Fox Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang noted Allar’s improved prospects last week.
“There is no denying that Allar’s production is influenced by Penn State’s scheme, but Allar’s traits are undeniable,” Rang wrote. “A year ago, some thought I was crazy for suggesting that Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy might be the first Wolverines quarterback to be drafted in the first round since his then-head coach Jim Harbaugh. Penn State hasn’t produced a first-round signal-caller since Kerry Collins, but the prototypically built Allar flashes that kind of upside.”
