The Drew Allar of 2024 is not exactly like the Drew Allar who quarterbacked Penn State in 2023. That’s a good thing. And the result is that the older Drew, the more mature, the more emotional Drew has the Nittany Lions in the CFP Final Four, set to play Notre Dame Thursday night in the Orange Bowl in Miami Lakes.
This Allar, now just three months shy of his 21st birthday, is winning more — 13-2 in 2024 vs. 10-3 in 2023.
He is throwing less (24.7 passes per game in 2024 vs. 29.9 in 2023). And he is completing more (67.4% vs. 59.9%).
He’s thrown a few more interceptions (7 vs. 2) and has about the same number of TD passes (24 vs. 25), but he’s much more effective (157.2 efficiency rating in 2024 vs. 136.9 in 2023).
And his completions are going for markedly more yards (8.6 yards vs. 6.8).
He is running the ball about the same number of times per game (6 vs. 5.7), for about the same average (3.2 vs. 2.6), but he is scoring more TDs (6 vs. 4).
Most importantly, he has taken his team to the playoffs, and won twice — albeit the CFP in 2023 only had four teams vs. the 2024 version, which has 12.
Those are all numbers. What makes Allar different in 2024, in addition to the introduction of new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and the breakout season of his favorite target, tight end Tyler Warren, is that Allar is playing more true to himself. And that means being more emotional — with teammates, with referees, with opposing defenders and even with his coaches. Allar credits Franklin, QB coach Danny O’Brien and Kotelnicki with the shift.
“I think the one thing that I was intentional with this year, in talking with Danny and Coach K and Coach Franklin, was getting those emotional highs, but then coming right back down to being even- and level-headed,” Allar said when I asked him at Saturday’s pre-Orange Bowl presser about his emotional growth. “And if something didn’t go right, let out the frustration, talk about what happened and just get to [being] level-headed.”
Allar said that his growth as a leader is both intentional and has happened organically, as he has accustomed to his role as a starter — the start against Notre Dame will be his 29th at Penn State, and he is 23-5 overall (.833). (To see where he ranks all-time since 1966, see the chart below.)
“I think it’s a combination of both,” Allar said. “For me…it’s always how I’ve been growing up — emotional and that sort of thing. It comes from a competitive side of me. I’m extremely competitive in everything that I do. I want to win and I want to be perfect in everything I do. So, it kind of stems from that.
“I think I also had to be intentional about it — because I think there are good times to show emotion like that, but there are also bad times to show that. Because playing quarterback you have to be cool, calm and collected. There’s a balance to it. For me, I’ve always been like this, so I guess it’s getting out there like that.”
WINNINGEST PSU QBS SINCE 1966
Penn State has had 22 quarterbacks start at least 10 games since 1966, Joe Paterno’s first season as head coach. The following chart is based on the result of games started, with a minimum of 10 starts.
Allar ranks No. 8 in wins as a starter (23-5) and in winning percentage (.821). If Penn State wins its next two games and the national championship, Allar will move into a tie for seventh in wins (24, with John Shaffer) and remain eighth in winning percentage (.833)
Most importantly, though, if the Nittany Lions beat Notre Dame and defeat either Texas or Ohio State to gain the national title, he will join Shaffer (1986) and Todd Blackledge (1982) as the only Penn State quarterbacks to lead their team to a national championship.
| Quarterback | Record | Win % as Starter | Years/Records as Starter |
| Sean Clifford | 32-14 | .695 | 2019-23: 10-2, 4-4, 7-6, 11-2 |
| Trace McSorley | 31-9 | .775 | 2016-18: 11-3, 11-2, 9-4 |
| Todd Blackledge | 29-4 | .879 | 1980-82: 8-1, 10-2, 11-1 |
| Tony Sacca | 29-10-1 | .738 | 1988-91: 2-3, 7-2-1, 9-3, 11-2 |
| Chuck Fusina | 28-3 | .906 | 1976-78: 6-1, 11-1, 11-1 |
| John Hufnagel | 26-3 | .896 | 1970-72: 5-0, 11-1, 10-2 |
| John Shaffer | 25-1 | .962 | 1984-86: 2-0, 11-1, 12-0 |
| Drew Allar | 23-5 | .821 | 2023-24: 10-3, 13-2 |
| Chuck Burkhart | 22-0 | 1.000 | 1968-79: 11-0, 11-0 |
| Tom Shuman | 22-2 | .917 | 1973-74: 10-2, 12-0 |
| Daryll Clark | 22-4 | .906 | 2008-09: 11-2, 11-2 |
| Kerry Collins | 21-5 | .808 | 1992-94: 2-3, 7-2, 12-0 |
| Wally Richardson | 21-5 | .808 | 1993, 95-96: 1-0, 9-3, 11-2 |
| Christian Hackenberg | 21-17 | .553 | 2013-15: 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 |
WHAT HIS TEAMMATES SAY ABOUT ALLAR
At Saturday’s pre-Orange Bowl press conference in Pegula Ice Arena, I asked a few of his teammates about Allar The Leader. Here is what they had to say about his growth as a starting quarterback:
TYLER WARREN, tight end: “Really this whole season, the way he’s managed the offense. You’ve seen his natural ability to play football, with big throws and stuff like that. His way to have us all on the same page and be the leader of an offense — which is what you need out of a quarterback. I think that has kind of been his biggest step this season. And it’s been awesome to see. You can see his confidence a little bit more on the field. It’s been really big for him and our offense in general.”
OMARI EVANS, wide receiver: “Drew is a lot more talkative now, which puts confidence in the receivers, the running backs, the tight ends, the whole offense. You know he’s got your back. It feels good and you want to have his back. Off the field, he just always wants to watch film, do anything to help get us better. The more we do that, the more we connect — which I feel is better for the whole room.”
NICK SINGLETON, running back: “Drew is a really good quarterback. He’s a dual-threat quarterback. He can throw the ball, he can break the pocket, he can run it, get the first downs and even make long runs to extend plays. He’s been a leader off the field, too. He’s talking more in meetings. When the young guys are with him, he’s teaching them the ways. Drew’s been phenomenal.”
