Penn State head coach James Franklin greets freshman quarterback Drew Allar Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State sophomore QB will enter season with high expectations

By Ethan Petrik | Last updated 6/5/23

In a story published Monday, Heather Dinich -- a senior college football writer at ESPN -- wrote that sophomore QB Drew Allar provided Penn State coach James Franklin his best shot at making the College Football Playoff.

Franklin has never coached a team in the CFP.

Allar, a former five-star prospect, has become something of a media darling this offseason. 247Sports placed him on two superlative lists -- college football's top 25 starting quarterbacks for the 2023 season and another on the top arms in the sport.

Allar, however, hasn't even been officially named starter yet.

College football's 11 biggest arms at quarterback entering 2023 season.

- https://t.co/0l4FAWTGKU pic.twitter.com/DfXIcuvavU
— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 17, 2023

Penn State fans hope Allar is an upgrade from former QBs Trace McSorley and Sean Clifford, who delivered four top-10 finishes and three New Year's Six bowl victories but didn't advance the Nittany Lions to the CFP .

Allar appears to have the skills to be successful for a primed-for-success Penn State team. He appeared in 10 games last season, completing 58.3% of his passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns as a backup to Clifford, a fifth-round pick of the Packers in the 2023 NFL Draft.

"He can stand in there and he doesn't need much space," offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich told Dinich. "Those are the elite traits that he has -- the ability to be accurate with things around him, he's got really good vision. He keeps his eyes downfield incredibly well for a young guy. He's getting better every day with pre-snap duties, which are protection, run checks, seeing the defense."

However, for Penn State to take the next step, Dinich correctly points out that it will require a team effort.

“It's naive to assume that Allar or any other rookie quarterback will enter the starting lineup this fall and do what his predecessors could not -- beat Ohio State and Michigan -- without significant help,” Dinich said.

In addition to Allar, the Nittany Lions boast Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who combined for 1,928 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns as true freshmen. Penn State also returns Olumuyiwa Fashanu, a projected top-five prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, on a deep offensive line that added a pair of top-10 prospects in the class of 2023.

To round out the roster, 10 of the Nittany Lions' top 13 defenders return from last season, including its leading sack artist Abdul Carter and defensive back Kalen King, a projected first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

At least on paper, Penn State possesses a playoff-caliber roster.

With the playoff slated to expand to 12 teams for the 2024 season, Penn State can expect to find itself among the playoff elite after four top-10 finishes under Franklin and an 11-2 record in 2022.

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