Franklin: Penn State expects Drew Allar to take ‘significant step’ in 2025

Penn State football returns perhaps the most veteran passer in the country this fall in senior quarterback Drew Allar. Living through both the highs and lows of being the Nittany Lions quarterback, the third-year starter is looking to cement his legacy with a deep playoff run in his final season in the Blue and White.

A former highly-touted five-star prospect, Allar arrived in Happy Valley with the most complete toolset of any quarterback in the James Franklin era. Nevertheless, Allar’s career under center has been characterized by constant improvement and refinement. With the benefit of a final offseason of work, the Nittany Lions expect their quarterback to be the best version of himself in 2025.

“The good thing for him, and for us, is he’s gotten better every single year,” Franklin told the Big Ten Network this week. “In terms of understanding the offense, in terms of managing games, in terms of his athleticism. He’s gotten better every year. So, we expect he’s going to take another significant step this year. That’ll put him, and us, in a very favorable position.”

"That will put him, and us, in a very favorable position."

James Franklin expects Drew Allar to take another significant step in Year 3 as @PennStateFball QB1.#B1GToday x #B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/HRTlPx2YKL

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) June 30, 2025

Franklin’s words suggest a fulfillment of the goals he outlined for his starting quarterback at the start of the spring.

“He needs to take another step this year, which we think he’s done every year he’s been here,” Franklin said in March. “He needs to take another step when it comes to his mobility. He needs to take another step when it comes to his leadership. He needs to take another step in terms of his completion percentage. Needs to take another step in terms of his touchdown-interception ratio.

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“It’s really all of it. There are some things we’ve had some conversations with [quarterbacks coach] Danny O’Brien that those conversations will stay between us, but I would say just being transparent, I will say I don’t think it’s one necessarily specific thing. It’s all of it.”

Allar took a notable jump from year one to two as a starter, improving his completion rate by nearly 7% while becoming a top 15 quarterback in terms of passing efficiency in 2024. Heading into the fall, he is only the second FBS quarterback since 1956 to have over 800 career passing attempts, more than 50 passing touchdowns, and fewer than 10 interceptions.

Now with a retooled receiver room and one of the nation’s best rushing attacks returning to the Nittany Lions backfield, Penn State has all the weapons to ensure that Allar’s final season will turn out to be his most productive to date.

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