There’s a certain skepticism that revolves around Drew Allar. The highly-touted future NFL Draft prospect has the attributes, but there’s a sour taste that remains from Allar’s Orange Bowl interception that set Notre Dame up for a trip to the national championship. With one final year of eligibility, Allar’s success has become synonymous with that of Penn State’s in 2025.
Will Allar finally shine bright enough against the Nittany Lions’ top opponents to take the program to the promised land in a year with national title aspirations? Those around him say Allar has put the past behind him and taken notable steps forward in his return to the facilities. Now begins the most important offseason of Allar’s college career. His legacy is on the line.
“I think this experience this year will be helpful, very similar to what we’ve seen with other programs,” James Franklin said last Tuesday. “We understand what it’s like, you have a plan, you have a routine, you kind of go back and do an after-action review about how things went as a program. The players do that as well, and then you attack it.
“I think everybody is as disappointed as you could be when it ends, but there’s also a ton to be proud of and appreciative of. But the most important thing is that we use every experience we have, both positive and negative, to get better and grow. And that’s what I see all of our guys doing, including Drew.”
The image following Allar’s fourth-quarter interception against the Fighting Irish won’t soon be forgotten. Eyes wide, hands on both sides of the helmet. A major mistake on the brightest stage of his life. Allar was candid in his postgame interview on the somber night of Jan. 9. “I should’ve just thrown it away after that,” Allar remarked, explaining that he tried to throw into the dirt.
Allar’s teammates, who had seen him take strides throughout the year and lead Penn State to comeback victories at USC and Minnesota, rallied behind their starting quarterback in his darkest moment. They took the blame and quickly attempted to shift toward an offseason with a clear and realistic goal in mind — to right their wrongs next season.
“Obviously, he was pretty distraught after it,” tight end Luke Reynolds said. “But, I don’t think he’s the one to blame for everything. I mean, it’s a four-quarter game. We have about 65 plays on offense each game, and when one doesn’t go our way, we have 64 others. It’s just the time of the scenario. He obviously felt bad, but he knows that the team’s not against him. We’re always going to be in his corner supporting him.”
Ethan Grunkemeyer, thrust into the role as the Nittany Lions’ backup quarterback following the departure of Beau Pribula, took note of Allar’s professionalism following the loss to Notre Dame. Allar made it a point of emphasis that night to console the seniors who had just played their final game. And, before long, Allar was back in the gym. It was time to turn the page.
“He’s just coming to work. Every workout, being the first guy there and being the first guy in line for every rep,” Grunkemeyer said. “He’s just a workaholic, like that guy’s in the facility more than a lot of people, other than some of the coaches, maybe. He just works, you know, I don’t think things like that are going to change that.”
The possibility of a national championship push in 2025 was spearheaded by Allar’s decision to return for his senior year. Other key figures, like running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant and more only further shaped this dream into a practical scenario.
But it all began with Allar, who threw for a career-high 3,327 passing yards, albeit in three more games this past season, and turned down the opportunity to enter the NFL Draft for one more ride in State College. His receivers, like Tyseer Denmark, are ecstatic of his return to school and the potential that could come to light over the next year.
“It means a lot. Drew just had an excellent year, amazing year, a great year,” Denmark said. “I know everybody tried to bash him on what happened at the end of the year, but without Drew, we wouldn’t be there. That’s the leader, focal point of our offense.”
It was a single costly mistake in a 16-game season with many more opportunities to fall short that defined Allar following the Orange Bowl. The week before, there were questions as to whether he would forgo his senior year and test the NFL Draft after all. But all of that was forgotten with one pass into the hands of Notre Dame’s Christian Gray.
The narrative will only be changed by action, in succeeding when it most matters. And Allar is taking the necessary steps toward achieving just that. His teammates and coaches appear optimistic that the devastating finish in the College Football Playoff has only motivated their starting quarterback.
“He’s just hungry right now,” Reynolds said. “He’s trying to get better, like the rest of us, and he’s going to do whatever he needs to do in the offseason and during the season.
“It’s a tough situation obviously, but that’s the thing about playing quarterback and why, honestly, I’m grateful to not be a quarterback right now, because there’s so many plays that led up to that final play, a lot of one-moment calls, a lot of stuff that we could execute better on that would have put us in better positioning. And we trust Drew. He’s trying to make a play when we need it.”
