Drew Allar comments on his development over the offseason

2018 was the last time the Penn State Nittany Lions have seen a quarterback not named Sean Clifford see action as a full-time starter. Since Trace McSorley’s time as the Nittany Lions’ starter came to an end, it’s been all Sean Clifford for Penn State football — through the good times and the bad. After two 11-2 seasons with New Year’s Six wins and two sub-par seasons that finished in disappointing fashion, PSU fans have been through plenty during the Clifford era. Now, a new face will take the field as Penn State’s starter: former No. 1 prospect Drew Allar.

On Thursday, Drew Allar commented on his development over the offseason and how that has impacted his team as we enter spring ball ahead of the 2023 season this fall.

What did Drew Allar have to say about his development with Penn State?

Here is what Penn State’s Drew Allar had to say about his offseason:

“I feel 10 times better than where I was last year,” Allar told Ben Jones of StateCollege.com. “Coach Losey has done an amazing job and the strength staff as a whole has done a really good job with everybody in the program. When I came in I feel like I was kind of playing catch-up in terms of, like, just actual lifting and conditioning. I feel like I’ve put in the extra work [with the strength staff]. I’m like 240-pounds right now but I’m moving a lot better and am more fluid than what I was at 225. I’m still working on a lot of things like how I eat. I think the nutrition staff has done a phenomenal job with just providing me with, and the whole team with, resources and education on how we should be eating and what why we should be eating a certain way. And I think that … it’s helped me a ton because I feel a lot better just from a movement standpoint, and physically I feel a lot better.”

Drew Allar continued, “I think from a durability standpoint, it definitely helps. Coach Franklin always talks about your best ability is your availability. And I think that’s huge for quarterbacks. I think just from that standpoint of durability that it has helped me a ton and I think just overall getting like stronger and faster and my lower half has really helped me a ton. I think that really helped me just kind of have success on the field even last year, just breaking a couple tackles that maybe I wouldn’t have broken without the strength and conditioning program we had when I first got here. I don’t think I would have made some of the plays that I made during the season when I first got here. [As for passing] I’m a rotational thrower, so having a really strong core and a really strong base and lower half has really helped me just add velocity onto the ball and a little bit of distance too.”

Allar must shoulder Penn State’s massive expectations

Throughout his six years in State College, Sean Clifford was never really a ‘bad’ quarterback; in fact, as I have written in previous pieces on Clifford, he was essentially just as good as the team around him. Still, when the Nittany Lions were bad (such as in 2020 and 2021) Clifford shouldered the blame. The same will reign true for rising sophomore Drew Allar, unfortunate as it may be.

Now, heading into his first year as Penn State’s starting quarterback, Allar will be looked upon as the make-or-break factor for the Nittany Lions. If he wins a Big Ten title or national title, he will walk on water in State College; however, if he fails to deliver, we could see a similar situation as we had with Clifford. That being said, Allar appears ready to go, and will get the chance to prove it on September 2nd when the West Virginia Mountaineers come to town.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics.

For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at cjmangum29@gmail.com. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!