Penn State steadfast in QB approach, Drew Allar development

Penn State has been clear about its handling of the quarterback position this season. Sean Clifford is the starter and Drew Allar is the backup, prioritizing winning while emphasizing development when possible.

Preparing to face Utah in the Rose Bowl early next week, and despite the departure of Christian Veilleux, that approach hasn’t changed.

Traveling to California on Monday ahead of a week of practices, and a Jan. 2 matchup against the Utes, the Nittany Lions’ bowl process was outlined by offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich earlier this month.

“This is a great opportunity for the young guys to get more reps, but as we get closer and closer to really trying to get the Utah game plan going, it’s going to be a lot like it was in the middle of the season, throughout the season, where Sean gets the majority of the reps with the ones,” Yurcich said. “There’ll be some opportunity for Drew to get some reps with the ones as well. But we’ve got to get Sean ready to go, so it’ll be a lot like in season.”

During the regular season, those in-game reps took shape on a 5-to-1 breakdown between Clifford and Allar. 

With Clifford starting all 12 games, the sixth-year signal-caller completed 210 of 330 passes. He racked up 2,543 yards and 22 touchdowns in the air with just seven interceptions. And, at a 63.64 completion rate, Clifford secured the best passing percentage of his Penn State career.

Clifford’s 724 total game reps, however, did not prevent Allar from participating throughout the season. Registering his lowest per-game snap count in four years as a starter, Clifford’s contributions were enough to send Penn State to 10 wins that averaged a 25.1-point margin of victory. 

Penn State’s QB approach

In the process, Allar saw action in nine games, finishing with 143 total reps. Among true freshmen quarterbacks to appear on Power Five teams this season, Allar’s nine entries were the most nationally with Vanderbilt’s AJ Swann. And, of the six quarterbacks who finished with more reps, all finished with at least two starts while Allar served entirely in a backup role. 

Recapping Allar’s progress through the season, Yurcich expressed confidence in Penn State’s handling of the situation.

“The process goes that you want to win the football game. So, that’s our goal, to win the game,” Yurcich said. “Then when you feel that you have a comfortable enough lead – Purdue, it was a situation where he had to go in – so we felt throughout the season that when we felt comfortable enough putting him in the game, the earlier, the better at times. 

“Maybe some guys would have stuck with their starter a little bit longer based on the score and when your defense is playing as well as we played throughout the season, we felt pretty confident putting them in, what we did to secure the game, but also to give him reps that matter.”

Next steps

As described by Yurcich, much of that confidence was derived from what Clifford delivered throughout the season. Crediting Clifford’s toughness, leadership, and consistency, Penn State hoped to develop the same qualities in its other quarterbacks.

Nearly one full year into Allar’s time as a Nittany Lion, indications are that of progress made. And with one game to go, that process will continue heading into the 2023 campaign.

“Right now where he’s at, he’s really come along very well,” Yurcich said. “We’re just continuing to just press on the little things. The things that are controllable in the film room of identifications, continuing to press on the protections, and the basics of quarterback play and to test and to see the things that he doesn’t know or doesn’t understand, and try to find that threshold and continue to push on those things. 

“But he’s pretty well versed in everything. I’ll tell you, he’s come a long way, as has Beau. (We’re) extremely happy about both of those guys’ progress thus far.”