Penn State football: Drew Allar grouped among curse-afflicted QBs by ESPN

Some say it’s better to be lucky than good. Unfortunately for Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar, the “Worldwide Leader” thinks he may be hexed, despite his recruiting pedigree. Ranking all 134 FBS quarterbacks this week, ESPN writer David Hale slotted the Penn State football signal caller among the ominous group of “cursed” quarterbacks from the 2022 recruiting cycle.

Drew Allar grouped with “cursed” 2022 cycle quarterbacks in new rankings

Taking on the arduous task of ranking all of college football’s quarterbacks, ESPN’s David Hale broke out the 134 passers in 22 tiers. These tiers, each with its own unique name, went from the best (Tier 1: Cream of a questionable crop) to the very bottom (Tier 20: Hey, we could be wrong) of the sport.

Drew Allar lands in a rather unflattering position, but he’s not alone. The Penn State quarterback falls into Tier 7 (which is actually the 8th level) with eight of his class of 2022 counterparts in a group dubbed “The Curse of ’22.”

“The 2022 recruiting class could go down as one of the all-time biggest disappointments for quarterbacks,” writes Hale. “…The most accomplished of the class so far are Allar and [Clemson’s Cade] Klubnik, though both spent the bulk of their first full year as the starter dealing with outraged fans and dismal performances in their biggest games.

“In truth, we should probably have Allar and [Texas A&M’s Conner] Weigman both ranked a bit higher and, perhaps, Klubnik and [Duke’s Maalik] Murphy ranked a bit lower, but we’re lumping them together because they’ve all been afflicted by this same curse.”

What did ESPN say about Allar’s first season?

Drew Allar came to Penn State in 2022 as the No. 1 quarterback in the country, according to 247Sports. After sitting behind Sean Clifford, the Ohio native took over the offense last fall, throwing for 2,631 yards, 25 touchdowns, and two interceptions in a 10-3 season.

However, the numbers below the surface may tell a deeper story, as Hale explains:

Allar had just eight completions all season on throws of 20-plus yards downfield. He had five games in which he attempted one or zero such throws. Three of those completions came in the final two games of the year after former OC Mike Yurcich was fired. As a point of comparison, Washington’s [Michael] Penix completed 46 balls on throws of 20-plus last year. Whether Allar’s lack of aggressiveness downfield was a matter of game plan or ability will be one of the biggest factors in Penn State’s push for a playoff berth this year.

In five games against top-40 defenses last year, Allar threw 13 touchdowns and just one interception. Penn State was also 2-3 in those games, and he averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt, 65th lowest among 74 QBs with at least three such starts.

Is Allar ready to take the next step with new Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki?

The man tasked with breaking Drew Allar’s “curse,” if there is one, is new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Bringing his innovative offensive mind from Kansas, Kotelnicki is looking to fix the woes that plagued Penn State football on that side of the ball a season ago.

Allar will be the linchpin for the Nittany Lions offense in 2024. James Franklin thinks his quarterback is up for the task.

“I think he’s ready to take the next step,” Franklin said this spring. “I think he’s excited about some of the things that we’re doing. He’s had a great offseason. He’s moving better. He looks better. He looks leaner. His weight is still very similar, but I think he’s changed kind of his body composition in a lot of ways.”

For his part, Kotelnicki has spent these last few months learning the strengths and weaknesses of his playmakers. In Allar, Kotelnicki sees a player eager to learn.

“The first thing [that’s stood out] is his yearning to improve all the time,” Kotelnicki said in March. “He’s really, really good about trying to [say], ‘Okay, this happened. Why?’…He is always seeking feedback to improve himself. I think that’s really important.”

Curse or not, 2024 is a critical season for Allar and Penn State football. Because if there’s a spell to be broken, neither can afford to wait.

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