Drew Allar connects with KeAndre Lambert-Smith for 72-yard touchdown vs. WVU

The Drew Allar era has officially begun at Penn State. He was one of the most highly regarded quarterbacks in the country coming out of high school and Nittany Lion fans simply couldn’t wait until he took over the starting job as their full-time quarterback.

On Saturday night, fans got their first taste of Allar as their starter. On his second pass of the night against West Virginia, the Ohio native hooked up with KeAndre Lambert Smith for his first touchdown pass as the full-time starter.

It was a 72-yard bomb against the Mountaineers.

Check it out below.

WELCOME TO THE DREW ALLAR ERA 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0HnQAjkuYn

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) September 2, 2023

In the second quarter, Penn State leads West Virginia 14-7. Running back C.J. Donaldson punched in the score from the one-yard line for the Mountaineers.

The Drew Allar era kicks off at Penn State

Allar now stands 6-foot-5, 242 pounds, according to the program’s newest online roster. He came to Penn State after shining at Medina High School. Allar is part of the Elite 11 fraternity and was ranked as the No. 28 player overall and No. 3 quarterback in the On3 Industry Rankings for the Class of 2022.

Allar helped guide the Battling Bees to a 13-1 record, an undefeated regular season, and a Greater Cleveland Conference Championship as a senior. He also played in the 2022 Adidas All-American Bowl, a game full of the nation’s elite high school prospects.

As a senior, he completed 60 percent of his passes for 4,444 passing yards, while throwing 48 touchdowns. He set Medina County records for yards and touchdowns. Allar also rushed for 406 yards to go along with nine touchdowns his senior year. As a junior, he threw for 2,962 yards and 26 touchdowns while rushing for two touchdowns.

He burned his redshirt last season after appearing in 10 games for the Nittany Lions. Allar completed 35 of 60 passes for 344 yards and four passing touchdowns. He also ran in for a score. He threw his first touchdown toss against the Ohio Bobcats on Sept. 10th. Allar connected with Omari Evans on a 32-yard scoring strike in the third quarter.

Next week, Penn State takes on the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens on Sept. 9. That one will start at noon EST.

On October 21st, they’ll face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Then on November 11th, they’ll face off against the Michigan Wolverines. It’ll be interesting to see if Penn State can finally get over the hump and beat either of those two teams.

On3’s Greg Pickel also contributed to this article.