Penn State passer Drew Allar passes first test in first start of career
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was cool, calm, and collected, as expected, in his first start in a Nittany Lions uniform. The sophomore from Medina, Ohio completed 21 of 29 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns. It’s the second-most passing yards by a first-time starter in Lions lore, second only to Mike McQueary’s 366 yards in 1997. He protected the ball, controlled the attack, and led the home side to a 38-15 victory over West Virginia.
“I feel really good,” Allar said. “The main thing that matters is winning at the end of the day. We always talked about that 1-0 mindset. And, I think we did a really good job throughout the past two weeks of preparing for West Virginia, because they’re a really good team. Have some really talented players. I think we did a really good job of just preparing and doing everything we can to come out of this victory tonight.”
Allar’s first touchdown toss as a starter came less than five minutes into the game. He and the Lions started their first drive on their own six yardline. But, on the drive’s fourth play, the quarterback found a wide-open KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 72-yard touchdown. It was one of two scoring connections the two would have on this night.
“West Virginia, they called a really good coverage against the play that we had on,” Allar said. “I was just trying to step up in the pocket ,looking to run, and I saw Dre at the safety space across the field and I just stepped up and threw it. Obviously, it was really good for us as a whole offense to get off to a fast start.”
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Penn State coach James Franklin happy with Allar’s performance
Allar is the fourth new starting quarterback of the James Franklin era at Penn State. His debut may have been the most impressive. And, that fact stood out to the 10th-year leader of the Nittany Lions.
“Drew was 21 to 29 for 325 yards and three touchdowns,” Franklin said. “Obviously something really good to build on, and no turnovers. I thought he did a really good job of managing the game from a decision making standpoint. He’s extremely poised. He’s mobile for a big guy, does a great job of climbing the pocket keeping his eyes up.
“So I was very pleased that. On top of that, we were able to spread the ball around to nine different receivers. So, that’s a positive.”
