Expectations should absolutely be tempered for Drew Allar

For the first time in four seasons, the Penn State Nittany Lions will be rolling out a new starting quarterback to kick off the 2023 season. Sophomore Drew Allar is expected to be under center for the Nittany Lions and not only has some big shoes to fill, but also some high expectations and hype surrounding him.

Blue-White Illustrated‘s Sean Fitz joined JD PicKell on On3 Roundtable to discuss the Nittany Lions, as PicKell asked Fitz if the expectations of Allar maybe need to be reeled in heading into his first season as a starter.

“Absolutely, no doubt about it,” Fitz said. “First-time starter you have to do all the things on the mental side that get you ready, changing the play at the line of scrimmage, when that defense lines up in a man set and all of a sudden drops back into a zone. That’s something that a first-time quarterback, first-time starter has to see in live action before he can actually capture that and turn that into something where you can make those decisions on the snap.”

Most of the hype surrounding Allar comes from his resume as a high school prospect, rated a five-star recruit and the No. 3 quarterback in the nation for the 2022 class according to On3’s Industry Ranking. He also made ten game appearances for Penn State last season and made the most of his opportunities, completing 35 of his 60 pass attempts for 344 yards and four touchdowns, adding 52 yards and a score on the ground as well.

There’s no question that he’s shown potential and promising heading into this season. But living up to expectations gets harder and harder the higher they go, and the bar seems to be pretty high currently in Happy Valley.

“I think he’s got the tools to do it, but yeah let’s take a step back here. He can make any throw in the world, that’s not what’s going to separate him and that’s not what’s going to help him beat Ohio State and Michigan, which is of course the standard that Penn State is trying to live up to right now,” Fitz said.

The Nittany Lions haven’t defeated Michigan since 2020 and Ohio State since 2016, and Allar beating either squad would do a lot for his reputation. Thankfully, he won’t have to take either team on alone, as he inherits a new offense with a fair share of weapons.

“Now, they’ve got a great running game,” Fitz said. “They’ve got [Nick] Singleton and [Kaytron] Allen who we talked about before. The offensive line, very experienced and coming off a season which they took a big step forward in 2022, so you’ve got some things in place, but it’s going to take some time.”

Rankings and hype won’t let fans know if Allar is the right guy to lead Penn State’s offense, just time, as the Nittany Lions open the season at home versus West Virginia on September 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET.