James Franklin reveals Lamar Jackson-inspired nickname for QB Drew Allar after opener

Act 1 of Year 3 went about just as well as it could have for Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, both because of what he did as a thrower and because of what he showed as a runner.

In addition to throwing for three touchdowns, Allar ran for 44 yards on six carries in a 34-12, road beatdown of West Virginia Saturday afternoon.

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As far as his dual-threat ability is concerned, Allar picked up right where he left off in last year’s Peach Bowl when he ran for 40 yards on five carries in a loss to Ole Miss. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Allar netted 170 rushing yards on 69 attempts last season, not to mention his four scores on the ground.

Penn State head coach James Franklin revealed his nickname for Allar in the run game.

“We call him ‘Lamar Allar,’ and he kind of looks like him, right?” Franklin joked postgame. “No, I thought he ran better than probably people expected last year. He’s dropped 10 pounds. I think he’s done a really good job in the weight room, becoming more explosive. Obviously mobility at the quarterback position is important. But if your quarterback can get you just 2-3 first downs with his legs, it changes everything. I thought that showed up today.

“Some things that we got to get cleaned up, obviously, in terms of third down. I think we can be better in that area. But, overall, I thought that was big.”

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Allar picked up more than 2-3 first downs with his legs in this year’s opener against WVU. He moved the chains as a runner four times. Three of his runs went for 10 or more yards, he forced two missed tackles and he maxed out with a long of 15 yards, according to Pro Football Focus.

“I definitely feel faster. I think that just comes from training with Coach [Chuck] Losey in the offseason and the whole strength staff,” Allar said, via Audrey Snyder of The Athletic. “I definitely feel faster than last year, obviously dropping really like 7-11 pounds from last season, and that’s where I want to be at. So I just got to do a good job of maintaining that weight.”

The Penn State offense got the spark it was looking for in Week 1 from new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. A year removed from logging eight plays of 40-plus yards from scrimmage, the Nittany Lions mounted four such plays in the 2024 opener.

Allar kicked things off with a 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Harrison “Trey” Wallace III, who broke out with five catches for 117 yards and a pair of scores. Nick Singleton rushed for 114 yards, 40 of which came on a breakaway touchdown run.

Penn State sent a message Saturday in Morgantown: ‘Lamar Allar’ helped deliver it.