Penn State Football: Allar Slims Down Ahead of Pivotal Summer

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is continuing to slim down, according to a roster update the program recently released just over a month from the start of training camp. Allar is now listed at 238 pounds, down from his listed playing weight of 242 pounds during the 2023 season. It is a relatively small, but intentional change as Penn State looks to give Allar a bit more fluidity in his game.

“[With] Drew coming in with such a young training age, he’s pretty much exploded in all areas,” Penn State Assistant Director for Athletic Performance Chuck Losey said earlier in Allar’s career.

Allar hits the scales at 6-foot-5, making him taller than his two most recent predecessors in Sean Clifford and Trace McSorley, but also far heavier. During his senior season at Penn State, Clifford was listed at 212 pounds while McSorley finished out his historic career at 201 pounds. Allar’s vertical size makes for a natural increase in overall weight compared to Clifford and McSorley, although even he – recently citing a change in diet – knows the value of finding the perfect playing weight as he continues to grow into the role.

“I think, honestly, it takes time for kids to develop no matter their age or anything like that,” Allar told StateCollege.com earlier this year. “This is my [thinks] sixth or seventh year playing quarterback full-time. Most quarterbacks are bred quarterbacks from the day one that they start putting on the pads, they’re gonna be a quarterback. That just wasn’t me. And I’m glad that wasn’t me honestly because I felt like that helps me play a lot. I can really understand everything because growing up like I was tight and I was blocking. So at the end of the day, it just takes time and development … sometimes it just takes time and maturity. I haven’t really been immersed in the full quarterback life yet for that long. So it just takes time and I think I learned a lot from last year and I’m doing a lot more this off-season so far which is going to help me hopefully going into spring ball and fall camp.”

Allar’s size will also likely play into his role in Penn State’s offense as the Nittany Lions look to operate under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki – Allar rushed for 206 yards, actually the most by a Penn State quarterback since Clifford rushed for 335-yards in 2020.

All told, Allar continues to find himself as the Nittany Lions look to take the next step in 2024 as the Big Ten – and college football playoffs – expand.