Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is getting set for his third football season with the Nittany Lions; as he tries to lead Penn State to a Big Ten Championship in 2024.
Last season, Allar produced 233 completions on 389 attempts for 2,631 yards with 25 touchdowns and two interceptions. He averaged 202.3 yards per game and finished with a 59.9 percent completion percentage. Also, Allar opened his collegiate career with 311 passing attempts without an interception. That was a FBS record, bettering Baylor’s Robert Griffin III’s 209 attempts in 2008.
Allar finished the 2023 season as the only FBS quarterback since Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker (2022) to throw 25+ touchdown passes and two or fewer interceptions in a single season. Also, he is the only Big Ten quarterback to start a season with 175+ pass attempts and no interceptions since 2000. The former Medina High School prospect recorded the lowest interception percentage (0.51) in a single season in Penn State history.
Throughout his 23 games (13 starts) with Penn State, Allar recorded 268 completions on 449 attempts (59.7 %) with 2,975 yards, 29 touchdowns, and two interceptions. Currently, he ranks first in school history in career interception percentage (0.45), third in completion percentage (59.7), seventh in touchdown pass percentage (6.49), and eighth in passing efficiency (129.3).
The Medina, Ohio, native owns nine career games with multiple touchdown passes. Also, he has five games with three or more and two games with four or more touchdowns. Against West Virginia last season, Allar logged his first 300-yard passing game in winning fashion.
Drew Allar is an Offensive Weapon for Penn State
Allar is coming off a 2023 season finishing third in a single season with touchdown passes (25), fifth in touchdowns responsible (29), sixth in completions (233), seventh in attempts (389), ninth in completion percentage (59.9) and tied for ninth in 200+ yard passing games (7).
Allar is one of Penn State’s offensive weapons, beating opponents with his passing attack and legs. He finished the 2023 season with 74 carries for 206 yards with four touchdowns on the ground.
In his first career start, Allar set a career-high in passing yards (325) while completing 21 passes and throwing three touchdowns in a 38-15 victory over West Virginia. Allar led Penn State’s offense on their first drive with a 72-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Also, he connected with Lambert-Smith on a 12-yard score in the third quarter and a 25-yard touchdown to Malik McClain in the fourth quarter.
Allar continued his strong start in 2023 by completing 84.6 percent of his passes in a 63-7 victory over Delaware in Week 1. He completed 22 passes on 26 attempts for 204 yards and a touchdown to improve his record as a starter to 2-0. Allar started the 2023 season with a 6-0 record as a starter until losing to Ohio State 12-20 to give Penn State their first loss.
Where it all began
Before joining the Nittany Lions, Allar attended Medina High School where he was rated the top quarterback prospect in the country and the No. 3 overall prospect by 247Sports. Allar helped the Battling Bees to a 13-1 record and an undefeated regular season.
As a senior, he won the Greater Cleveland Conference Championship and participated in the 2022 Adidas All-America Bowl, earning Elite 11 quarterback honors. Allar completed 305-of-511 passes (60 percent) for 4,444 yards and 48 passing touchdowns during his senior season, setting Medina County records for yards and touchdowns.
The junior quarterback started his collegiate career at Penn State in 2022 as a true freshman. He appeared in ten games, completing 35-of-60 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns. Also, he ran for 52 yards on 18 attempts with one rushing score. Allar recorded his first throwing touchdown against Ohio in Week 1 during the 2022 season. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns in relief.
As Allar prepares for the 2024 season, look for the junior quarterback to have another stellar season, ranking him high among the starting Big Ten quarterbacks.
Mike Cavallo
A sportswriter for The League Winners covering all Rutgers athletics. Follow my social media page for all coverage of Rutgers sports. X (Twitter): @M_Cavs55