What Penn State QB Drew Allar learned as a freshman: ‘Just be yourself’

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State has yet to name its starting quarterback, and that’s OK with Drew Allar. He isn’t worried about that label. Not yet at least.

Allar, the favorite to take the reins, is focused on the start of preseason camp. The Nittany Lions are only a few practices in. Allar made it abundantly clear that how he performs and how the offense progresses has his undivided attention.

Allar spent an hour speaking with a constant stream of reporters Sunday during the team’s media day, fielding questions on the Beaver Stadium home sideline — the same sideline where he stood and bided his time for the majority of last season.

He was poked and prodded about the competition with Beau Pribula. He was asked about the midseason chants for him to start in place of Sean Clifford. Allar didn’t entertain any of that.

But Allar did recognize he learned a lot from Clifford. He learned a lot about himself, waiting like he did. And he learned a lot by getting into 10 games. It’s those lessons that will help carry him through a 2023 season in which the offense will, at least in part, be on his shoulders.

“Just be yourself,” Allar said. “Go out there and be you. That’s one of the biggest things I learned. Don’t go out and force things. Just let the game flow to you.”

Soon enough, Allar will have to put those lessons into practice. Penn State opens its season in less than a month when West Virginia visits for a primetime showdown. And barring an injury, Allar will be the one to lead the offense out on the field.

Allar is prepared for that. James Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich made a conscious effort to play him as much as possible last year. And this offseason, he made a conscious effort to throw with his receivers as much as he could. Whether it was throwing on their own or in team 7-on-7s, Allar made it a point to iron out timing and finer details during the summer months before camp.

Allar’s done that alongside Pribula. The two have been attached at the hip since signing in Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class.

“I think it was good for us to come in with another quarterback,” Allar said. “That’s not the case in most situations. Most schools only take one quarterback at a time per class. But I think it was really beneficial to both of us because we are able to learn from each other. It helped us come closer together as a whole and especially now with the quarterback room since we’re the older guys now.”

Allar then laughed and said it’s “odd” to be an elder statesman in the quarterback room. He’s only 19 years old, after all. But that doesn’t weigh on his brain.

Allar doesn’t yet have a “Sean Clifford voice,” as he called it. There are older, more established players on the offense who have stepped up from a leadership standpoint. Allar named Olu Fashanu, Theo Johnson, Hunter Nourzad, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Trey Wallace III and Liam Clifford as respected figures.

Just like he learned not to throw into too tight of a window, Allar isn’t going to force something like that. It’ll come naturally.

“I just try to pick my spots whenever I feel it’s necessary,” Allar said.

He’ll get there. Like the quarterback decision, it’s only a matter of time.