Penn State quarterback Drew Allar talks Michigan game, confidence after Maryland, and more
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar played his best game as the Nittany Lions’ starter last Saturday at Maryland. The Medina, Ohio native and sophomore was calm, cool, and collected as he threw for 240 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions throughout the 51-15 triumph in College Park. A lack of poise has not been a problem. But, developing a sense of comfort and rhythm of late has been a game-changer.
“I think really the past two weeks I’ve been focused on being calmer in the pocket just with footwork and stuff, and that’s really helped me,” Allar said Tuesday. “The rhythm Coach [Mike] Yurcich was able to get the offense in helped me a ton. For me personally, it was staying calm in the pocket, only taking what I need in the pocket, no unnecessary movements that can make me drift into more pressure; I think I’ve done a good job the last few weeks and need to build on it.”
Allar will need to continue to do so this week against a top-five Michigan team that brings the nation’s No. 1 total defense to town. The Penn State quarterback was very complimentary of this week’s opponent.
“It’s definitely a great opportunity,” Allar said. “Michigan is a great team on both sides of the ball. Tremendous amount of respect for them. They are a very well-coached team. They’re very sound. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. There’s not a lot of busts in the secondary. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s something we look forward to.”
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On the Wolverines’ secondary
“I think they’re very consistent,” Allar said. “They have a lot of talent just from, they’re pretty rangy and have long arms. They can be physical. But they also do a good job of staying in front of them. They don’t let many guys get past them. They’re really good tacklers, too. They aren’t afraid to make a tackle or shed a block. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us this week. They’re very disciplined. We have to take every opportunity we have and maximize it.”
How can the Penn State offense build on the Maryland game?
“We just want to keep building off that confidence for sure,” Allar said. “That’s going to be one of the main things in practice this week. We’ll go out, do what we have to do on the practice field, iron out any mistakes, and it’s going to be a huge week for us. I’m excited for the opportunity.”
Is the Lions offense as confident as its been all season?
“I don’t think it’s the most confident we’ve ever been,” Allar said. “I think we’re very confident going into every game because of the way we prepare throughout the week. The coaching staff did a great job preparing us last week. I think it starts [on Tuesday] in practice with our confidence. The coaches will do a great job getting us prepared in meetings. We have to trust the training and techniques that the coaches have been implementing since fall camp. If we go out and execute our jobs, we’ll be able to stay on track. It’s one of those games where we can’t kill ourselves with mistakes because they’ll capitalize on mistakes.”
