James Franklin pleasantly surprised by fiery ‘swagger’ of Penn State football QB Drew Allar

Drew Allar looked different on Saturday during the Nittany Lions’ 34-12 victory over West Virginia. But it wasn’t just his slimmed-down frame or the revamped Penn State football offense that emphasized the deep ball. The junior quarterback showed grit and tenacity unlike anything seen during his first season as the Nittany Lions starter.

Few ever questioned Allar’s passion or his willingness to wear his feelings on his sleeve. However, the Drew Allar we saw on Saturday possessed bravado. Allar had complete confidence in his abilities and wanted West Virginia to know it.

The play that best captures Allar’s new aura won’t wow on the stat line. But the Nittany Lion quarterback’s stiff arm of Mountaineer linebacker Josiah Trotter, and his subsequent reaction, on a three-yard rush to extend a Penn State scoring drive early in the fourth quarter perfectly encapsulates Allar’s new demeanor.

Drew Allar with the blue collar stiff arm 💪@AllarDrew | @PennStateFball

(via @cfbonfox)pic.twitter.com/a9wbOZN4On

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) August 31, 2024

James Franklin discusses Allar’s newfound swagger

© Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s not just the heat of competition that brought out this new, fiery Drew Allar. According to James Franklin, who was asked about Allar’s stiff arm and his “demonstrative” attitude during his weekly press conference on Monday, it comes from a long offseason of hard work.

“I think part of it, too, right, is it’s year two for him as the starting quarterback and year three in the program,” Franklin said. “So he shouldn’t look the same. He shouldn’t behave the same. There should be growth. There should be more confidence. There should be more swagger. Because he’s earned that, right? You know, look, confidence is something you earn. It’s not something that you give. It’s something you’ve earned. And you know, he’s worked really hard, and you see it in his play.

“You know, that stiff arm was a credit to our strength and conditioning program, but it’s also a credit to Drew and the work that he’s put in. And I also think for that to happen on our sideline, and for our sideline to see that, and see him make a play like that, that he has not made in the past, and then to react the way he reacted was really pretty cool.”

Even while Allar’s growth in confidence was expected with another year in the program, that doesn’t mean James Franklin thought it would manifest as it did against West Virginia this weekend.

“And you know, I think all the points you make are fair,” he continued. “But again, I think some of that is [quarterbacks coach] Danny O’Brien, [offensive coordinator] Andy Kotelnicki, our coaching about things that he did well last year and things that he needs to do better this year. But I think it’s also just part of his maturation process and his being comfortable with being the starting quarterback at Penn State and everything that comes with it. But I think you’re the word you used, I think was a really good word to describe it. And I don’t know if I necessarily would have said that, I knew that was coming, but I sure was glad it happened.”

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