The (five) stars are aligning for Penn State football fans to see a lot of bona fide backup quarterback Drew Allar on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions will face Ohio University at noon Saturday on ABC, in their home opener in Beaver Stadium as they look to go 1-0 for the second consecutive week.
And for the second straight week, expect to see a good (maybe even great, but not likely elite) amount of Allar at QB. In an homage to the freshman signal-caller, let us count the 15 ways:
1. In his response to the final question during Wednesday night’s post-practice media scrum — kudos to 247’s Tyler Donohue — coach James Franklin gave clear indication that Allar is becoming ensconced as Penn State’s No. 2 quarterback.
2. Franklin said that on Penn State’s scout team on offense, at quarterback “we are rotating; both (Beau) Pribula and (Christian) Veilleux are down there, as well as Mason Stahl’s taking some reps down there, too.” “Down there” is not a good place to be.
3. Bad draw for CV, good draw for Drew.
4. As the back-up quarterback for the Nittany Lions at Purdue, it is well-documented that Allar performed well during Sean Clifford’s 26-minute absence in the second half, and completed 2 of 4 passes for 26 yards. A deep sideline toss was in and out of the hands of Tyler Warren; otherwise, Allar would have been 3 of 4. Allar also could have had a nice run, but — following in Clifford’s shoes, which seem to be staying in the pocket this season — he chose not to take off.
5. From the limited window that media saw Allar in the spring and during summer drills, I thought he actually looked better on the field at Ross-Ade than he did in chunks of time on the Lasch practice field. An indication the kid could be a gamer.
6. The 24-year-old Clifford had big praise on Wednesday for the 18-year-old Allar: “I didn’t get to see it (in person), but watching it back on film, I thought he handled it like a pro.”
7. Ta’Quan Roberson’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day at Iowa last season (7 of 21, 34 yards, 2 picks, about 37 O-line false starts) taught Franklin a very important lesson: Have the backup ready.
8. Franklin spent summer camp praising his team’s depth — including the quarterback room — but also lamented some decisions in the past about not substituting earlier. (Which is kinda ironic, since as head coach Franklin gets last call on who goes in and who stays in.) As CJF said a few weeks ago, “I think back, we had some opportunities last year to get some guys in to play earlier in some games, and we didn’t.”
9. Clifford agreed this week, in a veiled kind of way: “I’m really excited for (Allar’s) progression. It was a big jump. Because last year coming in, in the Iowa game, I thought that Drew took a step (vs. Purdue) whereas for Ta’Quan that was another tough road environment. I thought Drew handled the noise, I thought Drew handled the pressure being out there really well. It gives me a lot of comfort, knowing we got guys behind me who want to play, urge to play and can play. So, it was exciting to watch on tape.”
10. Allar is a five-star QB. In the portal era, guys like him who were studs in high school either play or leave. According to On3.com, nearly half (47%) of major college football’s starting quarterbacks in 2022 are transfers.
11. Allar is from Ohio. Penn State’s opponent on Saturday is Ohio University. Allar’s parents are coming to the game from Ohio. The folks back home who are in their ear are from Ohio. A good showing by Drew Allar against Ohio U. is good for U if you’re from Ohio. Which he is. (As is Penn State O-coordinator Mike Yurcich.)
12. There should be plenty of time on Saturday for mop-up playing time. Ohio may be 1-0 — with a 41-38 win last week over vaunted Florida Atlantic — but it was 3-9 last year and is a 25.5-point underdog against the Nittany Lions.
13. If Cliff goes down against Ohio State, as he did in 2019, the time to get Allar game-ready is not Oct. 29. It is Sept. 10.
14. Ohio’s defense gave up 364 yards passing last week against Florida Atlantic, ranking it 123rd in the FBS. Conversely, Franklin may see the Bobcats as the opportunity to finally get a single Nittany Lion rusher over 100 yards, but…man, you gotta take what the defense gives you. Even if your No. 2 offense is in there. This could be a real second-floor confidence builder, since you figure Allar’s performance at Purdue laid the foundation for feeling good about his early — and unexpected — college football success.
15. You saw that late hit Clifford took against Purdue. So did Franklin and Yurcich. The game won’t be a cliff-hanger, which means the Penn State braintrust will likely yank Sean outta there earlier than in the past. And get Allar in there.
