Drew Allar spent the last month or so considering whether to return to Penn State for his senior year.
He had many conversations with his parents, Kevin and Dawn, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin and his agents with CAA.
Allar made his decision in the last few days and made it public Monday when he announced that he will be back in 2025.
“We weighed everything,” Allar said Monday during a press conference. “I came to the conclusion myself that it was best for my future. It was a personal and a football decision.
“I’m glad I got this out of the way because I’m totally focused on SMU (Penn State’s opponent in the first round of the College Football Playoff).”
The 20-year-old Allar has completed 224-of-324 passes (.691 percentage) for 2,894 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He also has rushed 72 times for 279 yards and six TDs, helping the Nittany Lions (11-2) land a playoff berth against SMU (11-2) Saturday at noon at Beaver Stadium.
He ranks ninth in the nation in pass efficiency, completion percentage and passing yards per attempt (8.93).
Pro Football Focus had projected him as a third-round draft pick next spring.
“Drew has been phenomenal,” Franklin said. “His mom and dad have been phenomenal. We’ve had a ton of conversations. He’s doing a ton of really good things. He’s developing. He’s getting better. He’s playing great. He’s leading.
“I think there’s a lot of excitement because they believe and we believe there’s still a lot of room for growth and development. We want to be a part of that. They trust us in that.”
The 6-5, 235-pound Allar was rated the top quarterback in the 2022 recruiting class by On3 and 247Sports. He’s the highest-rated quarterback that Franklin has landed.
As a freshman in 2022, he played in 10 games as Sean Clifford’s backup and completed 35-of-60 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
As a sophomore in 2023, he completed 233-of-389 passes (.599) for 2,631 yards and 25 touchdowns with two interceptions and led Penn State to a 10-3 record.
“It’s been so rewarding to watch him handle being the quarterback at Penn State in the national playoffs,” offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said. “To handle it so maturely and to block out all of the noise and get better every day, he’s really impressive.
“He has an elite ability to handle things like a professional at the age of 20. It’s really uncommon. It’s impressive.”
Allar’s decision to stay likely affected backup quarterback Beau Pribula’s decision Sunday night to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Pribula is no longer on the roster.
Freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer moves up to become the No. 2 quarterback, even though he has not played a down in college. Redshirt freshman Jaxon Smolik has missed most of the season with an undisclosed injury, but he’s back to full speed. He also has not played yet in college.
“Grunk’s naturally a very talented quarterback,” tight end Tyler Warren said. “He’s been doing really good. If you ask some of the defensive guys, they’d tell you the same thing. He’s been getting a lot better since he stepped on campus.
“He’s been approaching practice like he’s the starter. He’s been playing great football for the D-squad (developmental squad). He’ll be ready if that moment comes.”
Kotelnicki was asked how Penn State’s game plan might change without Pribula.
“If putting 10 linemen on the field is a way for us to score a touchdown, we’ll do it,” he said. “It’s about the players that we have and utilizing them and the packages that we need to cause stress to the defense.
“I’m very blessed to have the offensive players we have. We can be even more diverse than what we’ve seen so far. It’s a spoke in the wheel of what we’re doing. It’ll be replaced with another kind of spoke. It’s going to be good.”
