Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1499919
8 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 3 OPENING SHOT A SHOT IN THE ARM When sophomore Drew Allar took the field in front of an estimated crowd of 63,000 at Beaver Stadium on April 15, it was technically his first appearance as Penn State's starting quarterback. The Nittany Lions were wrapping up spring drills with the Blue-White Game, which meant that the stakes were a lot lower than they will be start- ing in September when the regular season gets underway. That doesn't mean, however, that the Lions didn't want to put on a good show. As the game's final score — Blue 10, White 0 — might suggest, they succeeded only intermittently. Allar completed 19 of 30 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown. He hurled a 28-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Omari Evans in the first quarter, and he also had a couple of eye- opening moments in the fourth quarter, flicking a sidearm throw to redshirt freshman wideout Kaden Saunders to thwart a White blitz while also connecting with Saunders for a 23-yard gain. But as with so many spring games in previous years, there were long stretches of tedium in between the highlights. There had been mur- murs throughout spring practice that the defense was ahead of the offense. The Blue-White Game seemed to confirm those suspicions. The Blue and White offenses combined for 316 total yards and averaged 3.4 yards per play. Still, Allar said afterward that he came away from the team's offseason drills feeling more con- fident in his understanding of offensive coordina- tor Mike Yurcich's system. The most improved aspect of his play, he said, "would just be my football IQ, what Coach Yurcich wants us doing as quarterbacks, whether it be get- ting into certain runs or protection calls and just really communicating up front with the offensive line, making sure we're both on the same page." He added, "I think the room as a whole really grew." Allar's competitor for the starting job, redshirt freshman Beau Pribula, played for both teams and completed 10 of 27 attempts for 92 yards with an interception. The next phase of the team's offseason prepara- tions will be for the quarterbacks to get together with the offensive skill players and work out on their own in order to build the kind of cohesive- ness that head coach James Franklin wants to see when the team reconvenes for the start of fall camp. "We can't throw enough," Franklin said. "Our quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, running backs — we cannot throw enough all summer." — Matt Herb PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE