The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2025. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a […]
The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2025. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a second-place vote being nine points, and so on. Today we take a look at third-year starting quarterback Drew Allar, who came in at No. 3.
HOW HE GOT HERE
A former five-star and number-one rated QB in the 2022 recruiting class according to 247, expectations were quite high from the moment Drew Allar arrived in Happy Valley. His freshman year saw him playing backup to Sean Clifford, getting a chance to showcase himself right away when he was thrusted into a drive in the season opener against Purdue and held his own with a couple of nice throws and not looking like the moment was too big for him, in addition to getting his share of action during garbage time in blowout wins.
Allar’s first year as a starter in 2023 saw him put up a solid 25-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, albeit with only 2,631 yards passing to show for it, due to a tendency to “check down” and make the safe throw, rarely taking any shots downfield. This of course, sparked the now-infamous exchange between James Franklin and Cory “Just Chuck It Deep” Giger. Drew’s second year starting saw him improve by leaps and bounds from the previous season, as things seemed to click better for him overall in Andy Kotelnicki’s offensive system, throwing for 3,327 yards with 24 TD’s and 8 INT’s, and also picking up 302 yards and six TD’s on the ground, with his newfound mobility as a resulting of slimming down while adding some muscle.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2025
Look for an even leaner, more mobile Drew with the same strong and accurate arm showcasing a level of leadership and maturity that one would expect from a 21-year old third-year senior starting quarterback. He’s already got a dynamic running back duo, a dominant offensive line, and a solid set of tight ends at his disposal, but if the trio of transfer portal wide receivers are indeed the real deal, it could allow Drew to put up the most prolific stats of his playing career, thus far. More importantly, it could allow him to notch a critical win against one or both of the big dogs on the schedule in Oregon and Ohio State. Enjoy this one final ride before he goes off to make some NFL fan base happy starting next year.
Category: General Sports
