Penn State not ready to name starting quarterback just days before opener with West Virginia
Penn State coach James Franklin raved about sophomore quarterback Drew Allar’s preseason camp during his first news conference of West Virginia week on Tuesday. However, the 10th-year leader of the Nittany Lions has also been impressed by second-year passer Beau Pribula and freshman Jaxon Smolik throughout both spring practice and August camp. Becuase of that, he was not yet ready to name Allar as his team’s new starter under center just days before the Mountaineers visit Beaver Stadium.
“I’m not making any announcements at this time,” Franklin said. “I do think it’s been good competition. Not only has Beau done some nice things, Beau brings an element that maybe Drew doesn’t have. Maybe even factoring those things in, I think sometimes as a running quarterback, those things are hard to evaluate in practice because you don’t really see them. He’s not out there breaking tackles in practice, which is his style. He reminds me of Trace [McSorley].
“And Jaxon Smolik has had a good camp too. We have three quarterbacks that have all shown signs that we can win with.”
West Virginia coach Neal Brown did not name a starting quarterback either when he spoke on Monday. At this point, both schools seem content to keep their first-teamer a secret until Saturday night on NBC. But, Allar has long been viewed as the leader in the clubhouse, and Tuesday’s development hasn’t changed that.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has had a good camp
After an initial opening statement, Franklin opened the floor to questions from reporters. The first inquiry asked him to evaluate Allar’s camp. And, clearly, it has been a good one.
“We keep a record of everything,” Franklin said. “Every throw, completion percentage, touchdown to interception ratio, explosive plays; we even track, you have interceptions, which are easy to track. But if there were interception decisions, or an intercepted type throw, we track that as well. He’s been really, really good. His decision-making has been good. His completion percentage has been good. And, having all this data, you’re able to compare it to Trace McSorley, Sean Clifford, so on and so forth.
“I think there’s a ton of value in that, in terms of trying to get an idea of how you are in camp. I thought he had a great camp. All of his numbers have been really good. And, going against a really good defense, and defensive back unit, has been a ton of value in that. Drew’s had a good camp, and a camp that has given himself and his teammates and coaches a bunch of confidence.”
With all that said, Allar is not yet publically the new Penn State starting quarterback in 2023 as of Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET.
“We’ve got a pretty good idea of who we’re starting everywhere. When we practice, we send some guys out with the first team, the second team, the third team, and most of the depth chart and roster is set. But, more times than not, we try not to put that information out there, because I don’t necessarily see the value of it.
“For me, the most important thing for me is the guys in our locker room, and the chemistry, and we got that.”
