Drew Allar is eagerly anticipating his senior season with the Nittany Lions, and so, James Franklin wants his star player to make significant progress in areas beyond the football field. The player already carries the subtle yet strong expectation of being a flawless product, be it in leadership, flexibility, athletics, completion percentage, etc., plus he isn’t foreign to improvement and making changes. He did it before, and he has to do it again.

But this time, he gets an added psychological edge from the team that helped him move on from the ghosts of the CFP loss. You see, Allar’s jump from year 1 to year 2 as the QB1 was no less than strategic, and steady growth. Even if there’s not a major gap in the numbers or stats, he made better decisions down the field. The aggressive approach was flatly visible in his clips, which were largely missing in the past. However, there are some dips, too. His competition percentage came down to five points over the final four games. Oh! Let’s not forget the gut-wrenching, back-breaking interception in the final minutes against Notre Dame in the college football semis.

Allar was trying to lead a game-winning throw in the final minute, targeting Omari Evans. But that attempt backfired brutally as it caught the hands of cornerback Christian Gray. The CB sealed the chance, which led to a 40-yard field goal and wrapping of the game for good. Boom! The Lions are no longer a championship contender. Have they truly recovered from the agony experienced in January? Although the error required in-depth reflection, QB coach Daniel O’Brien chose to proceed cautiously. Penn State insider Johny McGonigal broke down his empathetic move on Penn State on PennLive. He stated:

“Danny was asked what it was about watching that film with Drew. He said that they didn’t sit down and watch the interception late against Notre Dame. They didn’t watch that full game film until a week or so after. He said he wanted to let the emotion die down. He wanted to let the noise die down a little bit so that you could see it a little bit more clearly.”

However, if we go back to January, the quarterback publicly took responsibility for his actions. “I was just trying to throw it at Omari’s feet, but just didn’t execute what I was trying to do,” he had shared. Allar also revealed that he should have thrown the ball away but looking back at the incident, he could have also taken a sack and then just let it go to OT. Yet, OC Andy Kotelnicki blamed the entire offense, considering their QB did not get assistance from his wide receiver corps. This was despite Franklin passionately defending the group days before the game.

Adding layers to Drew’s unwavering dedication to rise above the odds, analyst Johny McGonigal, on Penn State on PennLive, continued: “Danny said that Drew took the film session well. He handled it like a pro. But he did mention that just intentionally going through every throw, all the footwork, all like keeping it very, you know, rigid and just kind of like what is the breakdown here, fundamentally and learning from that and improving on that, I think it’s just a big deal for Drew. He tries to make those little gains into becoming an even better quarterback than he was last year.”

The head coach, too, doubled down on Daniel O’Brien’s faith in his most expensive asset in the QB room: A clear warning to all who have doubts.

James Franklin doesn’t cast doubt on Drew Allar’s third-year errand 

Drew Allar isn’t a guy with the superstar gene. He was not always the poster boy to die for at Happy Valley. Rather, he’s a self-made man who came as an average three-star recruit and carved his path through ups and downs to make his story a sale. Allar, akin to a traditional hard worker, ascended to the leadership position and embraced every setback as a valuable learning experience. Do you still think the coach’s appreciation and trust is a free-distributed pamphlet?

No, it’s earned. Franklin, for a reason, showed zero hesitation while addressing the future of his guy in the upcoming year. “Yeah, you know, he’s just—he’s improved every single year,” the HC said. “You know, his high school recruiting process was kind of amazing… by the time it’s all done, have him ranked as the number one quarterback in the country. He’s done the same thing since he’s been on campus.”

“He’s gotten better every single year in terms of touchdown-to-interception ratio, yards, explosive plays, completion percentage — obviously playing really well in big games.”

The season-shattering late-game pick against the Irish? Oh, yes, that was bad. But not bad enough to dilute his 3,300-plus yards, 24 touchdowns, and all the intangible contributions to Penn State’s ablaze offense. Believe it when Franklin said, “He’s totally committed to being the best player he possibly can be. And he’s a great human being.”

Now, enter a world-class defense under new DC Jim Knowles and all the other transfer portal weapons, I’m not exaggerating, but the sky is the limit for Drew Allar under the center. What do you think?