Drew Allar explains why he didn't commit to Ohio State

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. He was also the third-best player from out of his home state Ohio. Given his high ranking in the 2022 recruiting class and hailing out of Medina, Ohio, one would think the stars would align perfectly, and he would naturally commit to Ohio State.

Instead, Allar decided to commit to the Nittany Lions over the Buckeyes. And during a recent interview on Next Up with Adam Breneman, he explained what happened with his recruiting process that landed him in Happy Valley instead of Columbus.

“My biggest reason was I feel like Penn State was the right place for me to go,” said Allar. “It had everything that I wanted academically, obviously, football, and then off the field. Just the resources we have around here. And at the time like I was committed to Penn State for like nine months or something like that. And it was really late in the process.”

Allar did not play much in his freshman season. Head coach James Franklin is well aware of what Allar can do on the field but went with the more steady hand to lead the team last year in Sean Clifford.

As Penn State enters into the 2023 season, things are much different for the program. Clifford is off in the NFL as a member of the Green Bay Packers, and it is now Allar’s time to showcase his skills.

Allar still has respect for Ohio State

Although the powerhouse program in his home state did not reach out to him until late, Allar is not bitter about how things turned out. The little lines quarterback still has respect and admiration for the Buckeyes coaching staff. But he knows he landed in the best possible position for himself.

“I have a great amount of respect for the Ohio State coaches and their program, but I just didn’t feel like it would be the best fit for me, personally. I feel like Penn State is a better fit for me personally. So that’s how that kind of happened. It was like just super late too.”

Despite being in the Buckeye’s backyard, Ohio State overlooked Allar. Granted, at the time, the Buckeyes had Heisman Trophy finalist CJ Stroud and the nation’s top recruit from the 2021 recruiting class Quinn Ewers. Still, Ohio State missed out on a talented quarterback with a bright future in Allar.

Whereas Penn State saw Allar’s talent immediately and quickly earned a commitment from him in early March of 2021. Now the Nittany Lions have one of the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten, swiping them from right under the nose of one of the biggest rivals.

Meanwhile, Ohio State has more questions than answers at quarterback entering the 2023 season.