Penn State's Drew Allar Details His Self-Scout Ahead of Ohio State

The Lions quarterback has been patient and hasn't pressed. But Allar has a checklist of improvements.

Penn State coach James Franklin made a valid, yet comical, point Tuesday when talking about quarterback Drew Allar’s play through six games this season, specifically regarding the offense's lack of downfield completions.

“You spend your whole career trying to get quarterbacks to take checkdowns, like every quarterback wants to throw the corner route or the go route or the post. Who's throwing checkdowns in their backyard, right?” Franklin said. “Here we got a young kid who's starting for the first time and we can call those plays, and he'll throw the checkdown. And to me, he's doing a really good job of keeping the main thing the main thing, which is protecting the football, trying to create explosive plays when they're there but not forcing them and managing the game.”

Allar, who leads the country by a wide margin with 181 passing attempts without an interception, keeps getting paired with the word “steady." He ranks second in the Big Ten in completion percentage (65.2%) and fourth in quarterback rating (145.27). That stability and careful deliberation from the pocket could make a major difference when Penn State faces No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday.

“I think the key thing at the end of the day is just taking what the defense gives you and don't take unnecessary risks with the football,” Allar said of his interception-free streak, which has reached 241 attempts over two seasons. "We can say all we want about taking shots downfield and things like that, but we have three safeties running deep most of the game and then the corners falling off on our level routes, so I'm not going to throw it into harm's way and either get our receiver lit up or allow the defense to have a free interception.”

As a result, Allar's passing chart is stocked with short-yardage throws. Just 19 of his 181 attempts have traveled at least 15 air yards, according to Sports Info Solutions. Allar has completed seven of those passes. Allar's average throw depth is 6 yards, lowest among Big Ten starters. Many of those throws were checkdowns.

But as a companion, Allar stressed the difficulty of tackling running backs Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen and Trey Potts in open space. Receiving out of the backfield was a point of emphasis for the group, especially Singleton, this offseason. The trio has combined for 197 yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions. All three backs have a reception of at least 15 yards, which Penn State designates as an explosive play. That’s an area offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich took note of during the bye week.

“He's done a really good job thus far just taking what the defense is giving him, being patient,” Yurcich said last week. “[Against Northwestern], he did a really good job of going through progressions and checking the ball down. a couple big check downs actually turned into explosives, just throwing the ball underneath to the tailback on vertical routes. He's been patient and he hasn't really pressed.”

Asked Tuesday for a self-scout through six games, Allar said he still has “a lot of room to grow in all areas of playing quarterback.” Footwork in the pocket was key component.

“I feel like the times I have missed throws that I shouldn't be missing is because of footwork, just staying a little bit calmer in the pocket and not burning clean pockets,” Allar said. “I've been focusing on that the past two or three weeks, so I feel like it's paying off so far, but just gotta keep hammering that down to make sure it doesn't cost us in the game.”

Ohio State has ranked with Penn State among the nation's top defenses his season, pairing that with an offense that annually puts up points. Franklin spent plenty of time evaluating the Buckeyes’ offensive weapons, notably receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. As discourse surrounding Penn State’s grind-it-out offense continues, this week is the ultimate litmus test regarding whether its current process can propel the Lions into the Big Ten’s upper tier. Allar and his composure to this point could be a difference maker.

“You have to understand and figure out what the identity of your team is, and embrace that identity no matter what the outside world is saying. You have to be comfortable in your own skin and own who you are and how you have to play,” Franklin said, citing the 31-0 White Out win over Iowa. “We went into halftime and said, 'Look, not let's not change who we are.' And those runs in the first half that we're going for 3-to-4 yards started to go for 8-to-10 yards.”