When it comes to hype and excitement Penn State sophomore quarterback Drew Allar most certainly fits the mold of a player who transcends the moment. He is a highly touted prospects finally taking over an offense that is hopeful of what he’ll be able to accomplish at its helm. Few players have generated more buzz before ever playing a game, and few have lived up to that buzz so quickly in a season.
To be sure things will only get more challenging and more consequential from here as Penn State heads into Big Ten play and the thick of games which will be a much stiffer test than the likes of West Virginia and Delaware. All the same, a look at Google Trends and the search Drew Allar has never been hotter than it is now and one imagines it won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
The first bump, Allar verbally commits to Penn State. The second is – fittingly – the same week that Penn State would go on to lose to Illinois in nine overtimes in 2021. Nothing gets fans to look towards the future quite like losing a game in that fashion. The following bump is Allar enrolling early on campus, starting his trek into his collegiate career, something marked by the occasion of an early season bump as Allar was forced into action against Purdue following an injury to Sean Clifford. As one can imagine, Penn State’s surprisingly successful but not very drama-free 2022 season came with no small amount of Allar-centric conversation. However as Penn State’s season improved and eventually led to a Rose Bowl victory over Utah, Allar became more and more of a conversational piece and less a debate, that final bump in 2022 coming at the end of the year as fans once again looked towards the future.
Allar hype has never been higher than it is right now, the ongoing week still not complete but the most recent Google Trends data showcasing the peak of Drew Allar searches – ever.
But as you might imagine, even Allar can’t quite transcend the brand of Penn State football all on his own. Viewing the same span of time, Allar is nearly an invisible blip on the screen of relative interest compared to the program at-large. Close games against Ohio State and Michigan coupled with that unique loss to Illinois maxed out Penn State’s interest meter over that span in 2021. The rest simply the ups and downs of big games, big bowls and big wins and/or losses. Allar for his part, is just a small part of that equation. Such is life as the backup quarterback.
But can anyone even give the brand of Penn State football a run for its money as a player? Maybe not quite, but a look at Saquon Barkley’s time at Penn State shows that it’s possible to make a mark. Barkley’s performances against Iowa and Ohio State in particular in 2017 both showed a significant bump in searches while his eventual No. 2 overall NFL Draft selection later in the year accounted for a massive boost in the offseason.
It’s safe to say Allar is a lot more worried about wins than Google Trends, but as Allar hype only ramps up from here, it’s amazing to think how bigger it could get.
