James Franklin was shocked by ‘crazy’ transformation of Drew Allar

Penn State football QB Drew Allar was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. He was listed as the No. 1 QB in the 2022 recruiting class, according to 247sports. But that wasn’t always the case. Allar had to work at his craft for a long time to develop into the top prospect he became. Part of that was through training with his private QB coach Brad Maendler. In the video pinned to his Twitter profile, breaks down Allar’s transformation from a mechanics standpoint. James Franklin opened up about this transformation on Tuesday during his media availability.

James Franklin was shocked by ‘crazy’ transformation of Drew Allar

From a recruiting standpoint, James Franklin followed Drew Allar’s journey closely since his time in high school. Going from a low-rated prospect with a few offers to the top prospect in your class is quite impressive. Then, when Allar finally got his chance to be the starting quarterback of the Penn State football team he showed what that development has done for himself on the field. During the 2023 season so far Allar has tallied up 1,254 yards passing and 12 touchdown passes. But what has really stood out is his decision-making. Drew Allar has yet to throw an interception in college. James Franklin spoke about Allar’s transformation.

Franklin said, “His transformation, he’s got a quarterback coach Brad Maendler, I’ve never seen a transformation like it. To be honest with you I didn’t even believe in it. I’ve always been a believer that we can really improve quarterbacks 90% of the time through their footwork and their timing, and their anticipation, and other pre-snap understanding of defense, that’s where the game slows down. That’s where you can really help quarterbacks, especially at the college level. We just don’t get the time to straight in deep with guys.”

He continued, “But Brad’s ability with Drew [Allar]’s commitment and work ethics, I mean his transformation is crazy. That just continued, he just kept getting better. His high school ran a wide open-spread offense which I believe also helped him get a really good feeling of depth and space, and how to make people defend 53 and a third. ..But I think it’s like most things, it’s not one thing it’s Drew’s work ethic and drive to be good. He’s got some obviously physical gifts in terms of his body type and his arm strength.”

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