Kesempatan untuk Mengejar Mimpi: Inside Drew Drew Allar untuk kembali ke Penn State
Michael Cohen
College Football and College Basketball Writer
LAS VEGAS — During the two-week window between Penn State’s loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship game last December and its College Football Playoff quarterfinal against SMU, streams of data and opinions were funneled toward star quarterback Drew Allar as he weighed the decision to return for another season or enter the NFL Draft.
Some of the information came from head coach James Franklin, whose recruitment of Allar began when the Ohio native was a relatively unknown three-star prospect, long before he blossomed into the highest-rated quarterback in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Some of it came from his agents, who helped Allar decode rumor from truth regarding what scouts and general managers really thought of his draft stock. Allar absorbed it all.
“They did a great job giving me as much information as they could in a short time span, allowing me to make the most informed decision for myself on what I thought was best for me,” Allar said. “I definitely wanted that feedback just because when you’re going into that decision, at least for me, I want to be as informed as possible, no matter if it’s good or bad. I want to know where I stand.”
Penn State head coach James Franklin speaks with Drew Allar #15 during the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Where he stood, Allar explained, was far less cut and dry than the rampant social media speculation that followed him for weeks. Depending on how well Allar performed in the postseason, where Penn State ultimately lost to Notre Dame in the national semifinals, some outlets suggested he could wind up being an early first-round pick amid a fairly barren crop of quarterbacks relative to the prior season when six were taken in the top 12 picks alone. Allar finished the year with career-highs in passing yards (3,327) and completion percentage (66.5%) while tossing 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Still, the information that made its way back to Allar — the stuff that came from sources he actually trusted — reflected a much wider range for where he might actually land. Some teams viewed him as a legitimate franchise quarterback worthy of a top-end selection. Others thought his inconsistencies rendered him more likely to be chosen in the middle rounds. There was too much variance for Allar’s liking, so he informed Franklin and the coaches of his intention to return the following year, a choice he now says was 90% firm entering the College Football Playoff.
“It was kind of like too scattered, I guess, to pull that trigger,” Allar said. “I have a lot of things I want to accomplish here as a team and individually that I wanted one more go at.”
Which brings us back to Wednesday afternoon at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, where Allar addressed reporters at Big Ten Media Days as the conference’s most accomplished quarterback and the unquestioned leader of a team tipped to win the league in multiple preseason polls released this week. He is the leading figure behind Franklin’s assertion that the Nittany Lions have “the best combined personnel we’ve ever had at Penn State” following an offseason in which fistfuls of Allar’s talented classmates — including running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen — joined him in eschewing the NFL Draft for one last collegiate ride.
The dream scenario for Allar and Penn State ends with him delivering the school’s first national title since 1986 and then becoming the program’s first quarterback selected in the opening round since Kerry Collins in 1995, nearly a decade before he was born.
A truly spectacular season could vault the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Allar, now entering his third year as Franklin’s starter, into the conversation for the top overall pick alongside fellow quarterbacks Arch Manning from Texas and LaNorris Sellers from South Carolina, both of whom will still have eligibility remaining should they choose to remain in school. It’s not impossible to squint a bit and see Allar, lauded for his physical tools, accuracy and ball security, ending up as the Big Ten’s first No. 1 selection since former Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long in 2008. The last Big Ten quarterback to open the draft was former Illinois star Jeff George in 1990.
“Huge arm,” one high-ranking NFL executive told me when asked about Allar this week. “Talented passer. Not overly mobile. He has physical upside but hasn’t put it all together yet. He’s certainly capable, but [he] Perlu memiliki tahun yang besar di mana pertumbuhan bermain posisi tidak dapat disangkal. “
Salah satu area di mana Allar dapat membuat langkah yang signifikan adalah dalam permainan passing downfield, baik dalam hal kesediaannya untuk melepaskan lemparan tertentu dan keakuratannya pada lintasan yang lebih lama-masalah yang dipengaruhi, atau mungkin diperparah, oleh ketidakmampuan Penn State untuk membangun ruang penerima tingkat tinggi.
Setahun yang lalu, Allar menyelesaikan 81,2% dari umpannya pada upaya yang melakukan perjalanan kurang dari 9 yard di luar garis pergulatan. Angka itu anjlok menjadi 52,2% pada tiket yang bepergian antara 10 dan 19 yard downfield, menurut Pro Football Focus, yang peringkat ke -78 secara nasional di antara quarterback dengan setidaknya 50 upaya tersebut. Tepat setengah dari delapan intersepsi totalnya datang pada kisaran ini.
Penn State QB Drew Allar #15 bereaksi setelah melempar intersepsi selama kuartal keempat melawan Notre Dame di Orange Bowl. (Foto oleh Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Sayangnya untuk Allar, yang tidak akan berusia 22 hingga Maret mendatang, beberapa penampilannya yang paling mengerikan telah muncul pada panggung terbesar, tidak seperti pelatihnya yang sering dikritik. Allar tanpa kemenangan dalam lima pertandingan melawan lawan-lawan konferensi kekuasaan berada di antara 10 besar di negara itu selama dua tahun terakhir-dua kekalahan di Negara Bagian Ohio; Satu masing -masing dari Michigan, Oregon dan Notre Dame – dan persentase penyelesaiannya dalam tamasya itu adalah 49,3%yang tidak sedap dipandang, sekitar 13 poin di bawah rata -rata karirnya. Dia juga melemparkan hampir sama banyak intersepsi (empat) seperti gol (lima) selama tamasya itu. Hanya sekali dia menduduki lewat 200 yard.
“Saya sangat reflektif tentang bagaimana saya melakukan proses saya,” kata Allar. “Bertemu dengan pelatih dan benar-benar hanya menyelam ke dalam lemparan yang saya lewatkan atau keputusan saya tidak benar-benar menarik pemicu. Dan kemudian benar-benar mencoba memahami mengapa saya melakukannya, atau tidak melakukannya, hal-hal itu. Ini adalah offseason yang benar-benar bagus yang mengerjakannya.”
Meskipun dia menghindar dari menawarkan terlalu banyak spesifik, Allar berbicara secara luas tentang daya tarik menghabiskan musim kedua dengan koordinator ofensif Andy Kotelnicki, secara luas dianggap sebagai salah satu pikiran yang lebih inovatif dalam olahraga; tentang laporan kepanduan jujur yang ia terima dari koordinator defensif baru Jim Knowles, yang menyiksa ALLAR masing -masing dari dua tahun terakhir dalam posisi yang sama di Ohio State; Tentang pentingnya merespons peristiwa negatif dengan emosi yang rata, alar berita gembira yang diperoleh dari reporter Tom Rinaldi dari Fox Sports ketika keduanya membahas seberapa baik pegolf elit bangkit kembali dari bogeys.
Menggambar alar atas harapannya untuk Penn State dan pertumbuhan di musim terakhir
Lebih dari segalanya, kata Allar, dia hanya ingin kesempatan bermain lebih banyak sepak bola, untuk mengejar hadiah Penn State begitu dekat untuk menang Januari lalu, ketika intersepsi yang mahal dengan 33 detik tersisa melawan Notre Dame menjaga nittany Lions dari penampilan di pertandingan kejuaraan nasional. Dia tahu NFL akan tetap ada di sana ketika waktunya di Penn State selesai.
“Kebanyakan orang membuatnya diproyeksikan sebagai pilihan rancangan putaran pertama tahun lalu,” kata Franklin, “dan dia memutuskan untuk kembali ke sekolah [because of] Bisnis yang belum selesai secara kolektif sebagai sebuah tim, tetapi juga sebagai individu. Saya penggemar berat. Kalian mendapatkan kesempatan untuk menyiasinya, Anda akan merasakan hal yang sama. Dia benar -benar masalahnya. “
Michael Cohen meliput bola basket sepak bola dan perguruan tinggi untuk Fox Sports. Ikuti dia di @Michael_cohen13.
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