Drew Allar says Penn State quarterback room has a 'great relationship'

There is a lot of young talent in the Penn State quarterback room competing to be the Nittany Lions starter in 2023. Drew Allar and Beau Pribula are the presumed top two options, with Allar perhaps holding an edge after performing well in limited snaps as a true freshman last season.

Freshman Jaxon Smolik is also competing for playing time after signing with Penn State last December and going through spring ball this offseason.

Allar recently sat down with Adam Breneman on the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast and discussed the Penn State QB room and how the group gets along.

“It’s a really good room. I think we’re really competitive but we all do it like just trying to make each other better, make ourselves better,” Drew Allar said. “We get along great. We’re always in there like having our own meetings, watching different things. But it’s a great relationship we all have in that room.”

Allar was ranked as a five-star quarterback in the class of 2022, according to the On3 Industry rankings. As a freshman last season, he appeared in 10 games, passing for 344 yards and four touchdowns. He added 52 rushing yards and one score on the ground.

Pribula redshirted this past season after being ranked as the No. 26 QB in the country by the On3 Industry rankings in the class of 2022, while Smolik was ranked as the No. 36 QB in the class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry rankings.

Allar believes that all three quarterbacks on the Penn State roster are talented.

“Every quarterback has their strengths and weaknesses, but the way we have our quarterback room set up, everybody can benefit from each other and that’s what we did last year, too,” Allar said. “That’s what really helped me grow last year.”

James Franklin reveals philosophy behind position battles, quarterbacks

Penn State head coach James Franklin also recently spoke about his quarterbacks and position battles in general, while stating that he doesn’t have a QB1 heading into the summer.

“I think really every year it’s the same philosophy,” Franklin said. “I think sometimes it’s assumed, which I get it, but it’s competition at every single position. A lot of things can happen between now and the season, so even when Sean Clifford was here for 14 years and left at 32 years old, he was competing for the starting job every single year. If he would get beat out that would’ve been his problem, not mine.”

Franklin’s jab at his former veteran quarterback room was a funny one, but the competition year in and year out in Happy Valley between some of the nation’s top players is always serious. Especially historically at the running back position, which Franklin used as a point of reference for his current quarterback battle.

“So we have competition at every single position every single year returning starting or not,” Franklin said. “I think that’s the right thing to do not only for our entire program, but I also think for the starter.”