Abdul Carter's hidden impact Drew Allar's potentially special talent: Penn State Post-press conference discussion

Penn State football head coach James Franklin spoke with the media on Tuesday for roughly 40 minutes. In that time he recapped the game against West Virginia and previewed the upcoming game against Delaware. We’ve got his full comments for you here at Blue White Illustrated. 

However, if you want the too-long-didn’t-read version of today’s events, we’ve got that for you as well. Check out our post-press conference reactions, where we cover Franklin’s thoughts about Drew Allar, Hunter Nourzad, and Abdul Carter. Senior editor Nate Bauer thinks that Franklin was as effusive with praise for the sophomore quarterback as he’s ever been. We discuss why that might be. 

Finally, Bauer discusses Franklin’s comments about fellow sophomore linebacker Abdul Carter. Carter has been criticized this week by fans and the media for his mistakes. We discuss the nuances of his performance and what Franklin had to say. 

More James Franklin quotes from Penn State press conference

One of the reasons that Carter didn’t get as many disruptive plays is because of how West Virginia attacked. Penn State didn’t have many chances to get pressure. 

“Defensively, they got the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly, which was smart. And I was impressed with that quarterback. They were smart; they had their tight ends chipping out defensive ends a lot. I think that’s a sign of respect,” Franklin said. 

Explaining S2 Cognition

Normally, I don’t make myself the subject of these articles, but I wanted to explain today’s question about S2 Cognition. The goal of the test is to define psychological traits in athletes. 

The goal is to quantify the “it” factor, especially for quarterbacks. Unlike the Wonderlick test, which is structured around classical academic intelligence, the goal of S2 is to test a player’s reactions and spatial awareness, expanding the definition of “intelligence” and examining mental traits in a player. 

If you’d like to learn more about the S2 test, check out this podcast, which is where I heard about it first. 

The reason for asking about Allar and if he’s taken such a test is because of his exceptional awareness of where his receivers were on the field, even when they were on the backside of his progression. Not only did he know they were there, but the new Penn State starter seemed to have a knack for knowing where they would be in their route and getting them the ball incredibly efficiently. While Franklin says he hasn’t heard of the S2 test, what he says echoes some of those thoughts.

“I think where he is unusual for a young player with a pretty sophisticated playbook; I think he knows this stuff cold or knows this stuff pretty darned good where when he gets into problems, he knows where to go with the ball. He can focus on the defense because he knows where everybody is going to be,” Franklin said

“That and his poise, because I think what happens is when you’re not poised you have a tendency to jump over reads and skip over progressions because your feet are antsy or because your eyes are antsy. He’s just so calm and poised, it allows him to go through progressions and read defenders.”

Test or no, Allar showed special traits

Beyond tests or having an analytical answer, the evidence is pretty clear. Penn state’s new starting quarterback is a very talented quarterback with another mental processing level. 

“He doesn’t hang on progressions. Sometimes young players — say you’ve got a smash concept or a China concept, however you want to call it, with a corner route and some type of flat control. A lot of young quarterbacks, they want to throw the corner route, so they hold on to the ball, waiting for the sexier route to come open rather than just going through your progression; is he open, is he open, is he open, based on the defender.

“Some young quarterbacks will hold on to the ball waiting for the sexy route to come open, so he doesn’t do that.

So that’s where you’re able to distribute the ball to nine different receivers. That’s where the defensive coordinator watches the film and says, God, we have to cover the entire field.”

It’s only been one week, but Allar’s style of performance suggests he’s going to be a nightmare to stop this season.