ESPN College GameDay debate future of Penn State, star potential of QB Drew Allar

The ESPN College GameDay crew believes Penn State is about to break through the glass ceiling.

While the Nittany Lions are gearing up for the Rose Bowl, Pete Thamel explained why Monday could be a turning point in Penn State’s future, believing heightened success is in their future.

“It’s a really interesting moment for Penn State right now Rece [Davis]. Considering this program hasn’t won the Big Ten since 2016 and it hasn’t reached the College Football Playoff, could today be the day that launches them into those conversations for 2023? The optimism there starts with freshman quarterback Drew Allar.

“We’ve only seen him in bits and pieces this year. He was the No. 2 pocket-style quarterback in this class. He’s backed-up Clifford this year. He’s projected to be the starter next year. His talent has the Penn State fanbase excited. Penn State hasn’t had a first round pick at quarterback since Kerry Collins in 1995, and there’s a belief in this program that Drew Allar could be the next one of those. Then you think about the rest of the talented freshman that are going to come back around him.”

Drew Allar is the prince who was promised for Penn State, and was a five-star recruit and the No. 28 overall prospect in the Class of 2022, according to the On3 Consensus rankings. The On3 Consensus is a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee and Desmond Howard agreed, Penn State is on their way. With Drew Allar leading the way, the potential is off the charts for the Nittany Lions.

James Franklin says Drew Allar has been ‘really good’ handling outside noise

Alas, the future is bright for James Franklin and Penn State, especially on the offensive side of the ball where there is tons of young talent at the skill positions. That includes freshman quarterback Drew Allar, who has primarily acted as a backup to Sean Clifford this season while he develops.

There are incredibly high expectations for Drew Allar going forward. However, according to James Franklin, he’s handling the outside noise well.

“Yeah, he’s been really good,” James Franklin said. 

“Obviously there’s a lot of noise on the outside, probably more so than there’s ever been with the rule changes in terms of agents being able to talk to players, media, fans being able to reach out on social media. There’s a lot of people pulling at these guys from a lot of different directions, NIL, being able to sign with marketing people.”

This season, Drew Allar has played in nine games, burning his redshirt in the name of experience. Most of that work has come in mop-up time. He has completed 59.3% of passes for 5.8 yards per attempt and four touchdowns. He’s rushed for an additional touchdown.

“It’s more challenging than ever, but he’s really a neat young man,” James Franklin explained. “He’s handled this entire process, the recruiting process the right way, and that has continued on. Same thing with his parents. We’ve been able to have really honest conversations with the entire family, and then I was able to meet with Drew this week just to kind of see how he was doing and check in on him and make sure that our relationship continues to grow and prosper, as well.”

“He’s been great, and he’s gotten a ton of reps this year, not only in games but also in practice.”