Can Penn State QB Drew Allar reach his full potential in 2024? Time will tell

ATLANTA — Drew Allar stood in solitude. Penn State’s quarterback, warming up his throwing arm Saturday morning, was by himself in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium end zone, peering out at the stage before him.

The hours that followed would determine the discourse of the next eight months.

Allar’s Peach Bowl could have gone one of two ways. The first-year starter could have ended 2023 with a bang, guiding the Nittany Lions to a win over a worthy SEC adversary. Or Allar and his team would fall painfully to Ole Miss. The latter was his reality.

Now, Allar enters the offseason as a question mark for the Nittany Lions as they look to 2024. Specifically, will he — or better yet, can he under these circumstances — live up to his potential and become the program great so many believed he could?

Allar’s standing as Penn State’s starting quarterback isn’t under threat. While a vocal minority of the fan base wishes it wasn’t the case — calling for backup Beau Pribula to take his place — James Franklin is going to ride Allar until the wheels fall off.

We haven’t reached that point. We might never reach that point. But we have come to the end of Allar’s first year with few answers and plenty of uncertainty around him and his surroundings.

Allar threw for 2,631 yards, 25 touchdowns and only two interceptions in his first 13 games running the offense. Surface level, that’s pretty good. Franklin, after the regular-season finale at Ford Field, claimed that every coach in college football would take those stats.

That might be true in a vacuum. But, fair or not, Allar’s season will be judged by what else he didn’t do.

He didn’t beat Michigan. He didn’t beat Ohio State. And he didn’t beat Ole Miss. Allar completed 47 of 103 passes (45.6%) with four touchdowns and three turnovers (one INT, two fumbles) in those three defeats.

Allar looked uncomfortable against Penn State’s top competition. He wasn’t his best, and he owned that. Unlike other prominent members of the program, he took accountability.

Allar said he “sucked” against Ohio State. He shouldered the blame after the loss to Michigan. And he did the same after the Peach Bowl, a game in which he continued to battle, scrambling and fighting for every yard until the end, even when the result was decided.

“I just forced it,” Allar said of his first-half interception. “It was a stupid mistake.”

To his credit — and perhaps to his detriment — Allar avoided those mistakes at all costs this year in what seemed like a conscious effort from the coaching staff. No quarterback in the FBS with as many attempts (389) as Allar had fewer than his two interceptions.

But therein lies a problem, the biggest problem Penn State had all year. Allar didn’t take enough chances — and didn’t show off the arm that had talent evaluators pegging him as a 2025 NFL Draft pick — because his wide receivers struggled mightily.

It was the elephant in the room all year. The wideouts couldn’t create separation. They couldn’t generate a spark for an offense desperate for explosive plays. That chronic issue was never more evident than in Atlanta.

Penn State’s wideouts didn’t have a reception until the fourth quarter. KeAndre Lambert-Smith, the team’s supposed No. 1 receiver, dropped his only target. Dante Cephas, the highly touted transfer portal acquisition, didn’t log a snap.

Compare that to what Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart had at his disposal, and it’s clear Penn State — whether it’s through the portal or internal development — has to improve in that area.

“We’ve got to make plays for (Allar) when we have the opportunity to make plays for him,” Franklin said postgame. “I think there are some things he can do and be more consistent, as well. But the biggest thing is we’ve got to be able to scare people and be a threat on the perimeter.”

That’s what makes it so difficult to assess Penn State’s offensive struggles. Was it Allar’s fault? Was it his receivers’ fault? Was it the coaches’ fault? Let’s not forget that things got so untenable and so frustrating that offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was fired in November.

Perhaps new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and his prolific scheme will unlock Penn State’s offense. Perhaps Kotelnicki, who earned a reputation for doing more with less, will work his magic on a lackluster receiver room and create openings the wideouts couldn’t create themselves. Perhaps Kotelnicki will get the best out of Allar and his stock will soar once again. Time will tell.

But for now, the jury is still out on Allar becoming the guy so many hoped he would be for this program. As Franklin often says, it was a combination of things in 2023. That’s why there isn’t clarity going into 2024.