Amid the news of one departing quarterback, Penn State received a promising update from its top signal caller ahead of a first-round College Football Playoff game against SMU. Drew Allar, who is in his second year as the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback, announced on Monday his decision to forgo the NFL Draft and return for the 2025 season.
“It’s a football decision and that’s how I always have been operating,” Allar said. “Me and my family had extensive talks about it, and everything, weighed everything, and personally, I came to the conclusion myself that I felt like it’s best for my future.”
Those conservations included Allar, his agents, his family, James Franklin and other supporting voices. There “wasn’t a party that was left out of” Allar’s ultimate decision to return for his senior year. His announcement has come at an ideal time for Franklin and Penn State, as they not only prepare for the playoffs, but evaluate future team needs and utilize the transfer portal.
“Drew has been phenomenal. Mom and Dad have been phenomenal. I’ve had a ton of conversations. And obviously he’s doing a ton of really good things, and he’s developing, and he’s getting better,” Franklin said. “He’s playing great, he’s leading, and I think there’s a lot of excitement because I think they believe, and we believe, there’s still a lot of room for growth and development, and we want to be a part of that and I think they trust us in that.”
Allar has improved tremendously in his first year under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. His 2,894 passing yards, 279 rushing yards, 69.1% completion percentage and 161.2 quarterback are all career highs. Despite an underperforming wide receiver corps, Allar has executed a number of eye-opening plays this season that likely boosted his draft stock.
But ultimately, after speaking with NFL personnel and weighing options to either stay or leave, Allar and his supporting group decided that returning for another year would suit him best. He is expected to enter the 2025 season as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks and has an opportunity to solidify himself as a first-round prospect.
“Obviously there’s been a ton of conversations with NFL GMs and scouts to be able to provide NFL reports and information to our players of where they’re at and what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are,” Franklin said, “and how we take that information, make a decision and then spend, once the season is over, time attacking those things that people consider weaknesses.”
Allar should also benefit from the return of Kotelnicki, who was reported to have earned head coaching interest from other programs. Kotelnicki has turned the Nittany Lions into one of the nation’s most explosive teams, currently ranking No. 4 in college football with 6.7 yards per play. Another year of both Allar and Kotelnicki should only mean good things for Penn State.
“It’s been so rewarding to watch him handle what it is being the quarterback at Penn State in the national playoffs, future speculation, all these kinds of things, but just handle it so mature and block out all the noise and just get better every day,” Kotelnicki said. “He’s really, really impressive. He has an elite ability to handle things like a professional at the age of 20 or 21. It’s really pretty uncommon.”
