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Penn State press conference reaction: BWI Daily

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•08/29/22•

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Penn State quarterback Drew Allar earned the primary backup job behind starter Sean Clifford, according to head coach James Franklin. Allar, a five-star freshman passer, has been steadily improving since a slow spring practice. (Photo: Dan Althouse/BWI)

Penn State football begins the 2022 season on Thursday night when they head to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers at 8 pm on Sept 1. To start the week, Penn State had various players available to the media, and head coach James Franklin held his weekly press conference. Greg Pickel of Blue White Illustrated joins host Thomas Frank Carr on the BWI Daily Edition to break down what they heard. They start with the biggest news of the day; five-star quarterback Drew Allar is getting the backup nod over second-year passer Christian Veilleux.

Penn State’s backup quarterback battle has a surprise update

Franklin’s comments came near the end of Monday’s 35-minute discussion with the media. First, Pickel and T-Frank discuss what we know and don’t know about the situation behind Penn State starting quarterback Sean Clifford. Then Pickel details the journey that Allar, an early enrollee, took this season. The five-star signal caller wasn’t the early leader in the competition between true freshmen. Instead, he and fellow 2022 quarterback Beau Pribula dueled in the spring, with Pribula being the early standout.

But reports were during training camp that Allar rounded the corner and had begun to make strides. Apparently, those strides were significant enough to move him ahead and create competition with Veilleux.

They also discuss the camp battle between Hunter Nourzad and Saleem Wormley at guard. Franklin updated that situation on Monday to include left guard Landon Tengwall in the discussion. Finally, T-Frank and Pickel discuss the pros and cons of playing three players at guard and how that can be a good thing or a bad thing. Pickel cites past situations that looked similar at the start of the year for Penn State but produced sub-par results. Meanwhile, T-Frank points to the opportunity for competition to raise the level of play for each player.

Recapping the rest of the day

Lastly, T-Frank and Pickel dive into the conversations that Pickel had with the players available during the day for Penn State. T-Frank asks for Pickel’s assessment of what they said and what interesting things stood out about their comments. Pickel left those conversations with one big takeaway.

The day isn’t over for Penn State football. Check out Blue White Illustrated on YouTube this evening for Penn State highlights and a recap of the open practice period.

Finally, tune in 20 minutes after the conclusion on Penn State and Purdue on Saturday for the BWI Live Postgame show featuring Thomas Frank Carr and Tom Hannifan.

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