Penn State enters offseason with lingering questions about Drew Allar, passing offense

With more than 40 mph gusts whipping through Beaver Stadium for Penn State’s spring game Saturday, quarterback Drew Allar looked a lot like 2023 quarterback Drew Allar.

Tantalizing. Frustrating. Confusing. 

The former 5-star quarterback rifled several throws including a 30-yard touchdown pass, but he also had way too many misfires on short and intermediate passes. He didn’t turn the ball over, but was skittish in the pocket and displayed some ugly footwork. 

Overall, it was an all-too-familiar Drew Allar experience.

Spring stats are meaningless, but when you replicate your previous season’s stats almost down to a T they at least catch your attention. Allar finished the afternoon 15 of 32 for 202 yards (6.3 per pass) and a touchdown. In 2023, he completed 59% of his passes at 6.5 per clip for 202 yards per game. He had 25 touchdowns to just four interceptions. 

On some plays, there are signs of a superstar quarterback. On too many others though, you’re left wanting. 

Maybe it was the wind. Or Andy Kotelnicki’s overly vanilla game plan. Or missing top target KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who is now in the transfer portal. But as Penn State wrapped up spring practice over the weekend, they enter a critical offseason wondering if its passing game will be any better this fall. 

The only takeaway from the Blue-White Game: Who knows? 

Why Drew Allar must make a leap in 2024 for Penn State to truly contend for Big Ten, College Football Playoff

Andy Kotelnicki was a home run hire by James Franklin this offseason. The former Kansas offensive coordinator turned Jalon Daniels into an all-conference quarterback, and brought over an innovative system that ideally would unlock Penn State’s struggles creating explosive plays and scoring touchdowns in the red zone. 

Perhaps that will be true this fall. 

We saw mostly none of that Saturday, however. Allar did attempt multiple deep shots (albeit incompletions) which was encouraging at least for a passing game that was far to dink-and-dunk last season. But the Kotelnicki offense was not on display, which is fine.  

That’s by design with spring games. 

Kirby Smart opted to end Georgia’s G-Day in a tie to avoid putting a two-point conversion play on tape. 

But I’m not sure Penn State wanted to enter the summer with a giant INCOMPLETE grade on its passing game improvement checklist. And that’s the only thing I gleaned from Saturday’s scrimmage. 

The Nittany Lions already had concerns at receiver, and those issues were only heightened by Lambert-Smith’s departure. Franklin expressed confidence in the receiver room after the spring game, but the longtime PSU head coach also acknowledged the unit must continue to get better. 

“I’ve had all the faith in the world in our wide receivers in terms of talent and ability. We got to take the next step and I saw them take a step this spring,” Franklin said. 

“We’re going to be taking another step this summer. The positive thing is you can really improve defensively and offensively in the passing game over the summer.”

The passing game has to take a leap if Penn State has any hopes of finally beating Ohio State or Michigan or making the College Football Playoff. 

The Nittany Lions have had very muted double-digit win seasons in consecutive years. They consistently beat the teams they’re supposed to and then lose to anyone ranked higher than them. They play awesome defense, and typically can run the rock, but their passing attack — from quarterback play to lack of juice at receiver — is what’s held the program back from being anything more than a fringe Top-10 team. 

For all the talk of how Ohio State, Ole Miss and Missouri are going “all-in” on the 2024 season, Penn State faces a similar make-or-break season.  

The program’s ballyhooed 2022 recruiting class — the one featuring 5-star Drew Allar, 5-star edge Dani Dennis-Sutton, 5-star tailback Nick Singleton and 4-star linebacker Abdul Carter — will all be juniors this fall eyeing a contract season before the NFL. Standout tight end Tyler Warren is a senior. Same for safety Jaylen Reed. Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming also has just one year left. 

The program has been steadily gearing up for this season, which is why it’s mildly concerning they enter the summer with continued uncertainty around their most important player.

Allar was just okay on Saturday. Fortunately, it was an exhibition that didn’t count, with crappy conditions and notable players sitting out. Still, inconclusive is the best way to sum up Allar’s performance, so once again, they’ll enter the summer with the same lingering questions about whether or not their aerial attack will finally take flight.