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As Drew Allar takes next steps for Penn State, the race to be his backup heats up this spring; here's the latest

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•04/08/25•

GregPickel

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Penn State quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien. (Pickel/BWI)

Many college football programs are either going through or have already completed spring practice with an eye on finding their next starting quarterback. Penn State, of course, is not one of them. Drew Allar is one of the many Nittany Lions who elected to come back for a final season in State College in 2025. He, like many of them, is taking it easier than they have in past March and Aprils so that young players can get more work. Familiar rep splits are playing out across the offense and the defense. But, it’s as important at the quarterback spot as it is within any other Nittany Lion position group.

At this time last year, Allar was the clear No. 1 ahead of Beau Pribula. The latter, of course, left for Missouri before the Lions’ College Football Playoff run last year. That elevated freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer to the No. 2 role. He handled the sudden switch well. But, it hardly guaranteed he’d be the full-time backup this season. That’s because Jaxon Smolik, who missed last season due to injury, is back to battle for the job.

How is that competition looking as Penn State starts its third week of drills ahead of the Blue-White game on April 26?

“Jaxon has done a heck of a job,” Franklin said Tuesday night. “We didn’t really know, coming off the injury, where he would be. But, both of them are doing really well. And that’s not coach speak. They’re both doing very, very well. So I think this is going to be a competition that’s going to go on for a while. I thought Jaxon would come off the injury a little rusty. He has not been. Both of them are playing really well. So we got to continue to build on it.”

Penn State is working to continue growing Allar’s game, too

There’s an old quote from former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore that is germane to this story. He once told an ESPN broadcast crew that “we don’t practice fuc–d,” according to The Ringer, in response to a question about why the team did not give Peyton Manning’s backups more reps. The takeaway is obvious: If Manning went down, things wouldn’t go as well as they could when he was healthy, no matter who replaced him.

There always needs to be a contingency plan, of course. But, for a team like Penn State, it goes without saying that it will go in a year with super high expectations as far as Allar can take it. This is why his continued development is in the spotlight this spring, too.

“He’s progressed every single year,” Franklin said. “You know, we need him to continue to take another step this year in every area, just like he already has. He just needs take the next step in, really, every area, which is what he’s done every year since he’s been on campus. So I fully expect him to do it again.”

Check out more of Blue-White Illustrated’s Penn State spring practice coverage from Tuesday night at the links below:

Penn State spring practice notes: Locking in on receivers

Penn State notes and observations from open practice number three

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