Drew Allar and new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki have been working together for a few months. Kotelnicki was hired last December and has been around the Lasch Building ever since. The two have broken down film, discussed the direction of the offense and are now sharing the practice field with the Nittany Lions a couple weeks into spring camp.
It’s still early. Allar has a lot more to learn from Kotelnicki, and the new play-caller has plenty to learn about Penn State’s returning starting quarterback. But one thing in particular has already stood out to Kotelnicki about Allar and the way he operates.
“The first thing is his yearning to improve all the time,” Kotelnicki said after Tuesday’s practice. “He’s really, really good about trying to take, ‘OK, this happened. Why?’ You know what I mean? He is always seeking feedback to improve himself, and I think that’s really important.”
Allar’s development is going to be of paramount importance for Penn State’s hopes in 2024. James Franklin has made offseason changes, all in an attempt to put the Nittany Lions in the best position possible to compete for a spot in the new College Football Playoff.
The biggest change was the hiring of Kotelnicki. Franklin fired former play-caller Mike Yurcich after last season’s loss to Michigan — a reality check for a program that, at the time, was clinging to CFP and Big Ten championship aspirations.
Franklin brought Kotelnicki in from Kansas to breathe life into a stagnant offense and get the best out of the program’s five-star quarterback. Last year, Penn State ranked 113th in the FBS in plays of 30 yards or more and 109th in passing plays of 20 yards or more.
Against the likes of Northwestern, Iowa and Maryland, Penn State’s conservative, straight-forward approach was fine. It had the better athletes. But against Ohio State and Michigan, a lack of inspiration doomed the Nittany Lions to 27 total points and 3.8 yards per play.
Allar, fair or not, bore the brunt of the backlash. Despite showing flashes of brilliance throughout the season, Allar wasn’t his best in those high-profile Big Ten East defeats, completing 28 of 65 passes for 261 yards. He took responsibility after those games in each postgame press conference and vowed to do better.
It’s a long road ahead for Allar before the start of what could be a career-defining season. But his attitude is what Kotelnicki has been impressed by in his time so far with the rising junior.
“Being a college football player, you’re going to be criticized a lot publicly,” Kotelnicki said. “You’re going to get your critiques from your coaches and how to improve. But what we’re trying to get guys to do, and Drew embodies this, is we want our players to learn how to self-reflect.
“If you can learn to do that, in my estimation — and this is not scientific — but I think that makes you better than 97% of people on earth. Because 97% of the population has never looked in the mirror and said, ‘This is what I need to improve on.’ He embodies the idea of looking in the mirror, taking ownership, good or bad, and growing from it.”
