James Franklin assesses Drew Allar's progress through two weeks

Drew Allar was one of the biggest parts of Penn State’s recruiting class this year. Now that he’s getting some game action, he’s drawing comparisons to Trace McSorley — and James Franklin shared the reason why as Allar progresses.

Allar has appeared in both Nittany Lions games, completing eight of 12 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns while sitting behind Sean Clifford. He looked the part in his first two games, and Franklin said that’s by design. His practice reps help put him in position for success.

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“We all knew that he had the physical traits and skills to be successful,” Franklin said. “I think he’s done a really good job of how to prepare, how to study the game and I think Sean’s had a big impact on that, as well. … I think he’s already at a point where the game has slowed down to him a little bit where he’s able to anticipate what’s going to happen from a coverage perspective or from a pressure perspective.

“He’s doing some nice things that we’ve been able to build on and we’re going to need to continue to build on. I thought we did a good job of getting all four of those guys reps in the spring and then early in camp and now, obviously, once we made a decision to move him to the No. 2 spot, his rep count has obviously increased, which is important and valuable. … Still got a lot of areas, a lot of room for growth, which is exciting. He’s doing some really good things.”

Allar was a five-star recruit and the No. 3 quarterback recruit from the class of 2022, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average.

James Franklin: Getting practice reps helps players be ready when called upon

Franklin stressed how practice helped Allar be ready, especially since the comparisons to McSorley come with the fact that he didn’t get much playing time before being named the starter. McSorley sat behind Christian Hackenberg as a freshman before getting his chance as a starter, and Franklin said those practice reps were a huge factor in preparing him.

“Our twos get a lot of reps in practice, which I think helps,” Franklin said. “I would also say with Trace, one of the things with him was over his career, over his time, he was just so adorable, as well, that a lot of those opportunities just didn’t present themselves like they normally do. But obviously, being able to say we’re going to make sure, like we did last week, to get Drew some experience, especially when you’re talking about a freshman, compared to — because I do think it’s different.

“Say it’s a redshirt freshman or redshirt sophomore that maybe hasn’t had a whole lot of game experience but has had a ton of reps and experience within the offense in practice, it is different when it’s a true freshman and he really doesn’t have either. … Hopefully, we’re putting ourself in position not only for current success, but also for future success with the way we are managing him.”