Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
1 6 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "As a quarterback, the only stats I really care about are the wins at the end of the day. To beat a team like West Virginia in a great environment is definitely really cool, especially with it being my first start." — Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar on Penn State's season-opening 38-15 victory over the Mountaineers "He did exactly what we all thought he was go- ing to do. We see him in practice. We just had a month of camp with him, and the guy didn't throw a [pick] until three weeks into camp. We all know what Drew can do." — Redshirt senior guard Sal Wormley on Allar's 325-yard, 3-touchdown passing performance against West Virginia "There was a lot of pressure on him. That kid went out and threw for 300-plus yards in his first career start in front of a [crowd] that was expect- ing a lot. They had the fourth-largest crowd in the history of their stadium. There were a lot of eye- balls on him. Hats off to him. He was going to have to play well for them to win, and he did." — West Virginia coach Neal Brown on Allar "Honestly, I could play football without recogni- tion and be fine. This game has done so much for me, and I love this game so much that I just go out there and I play. I don't really feed into stuff like that. Obviously, it's great that my teammates get the recognition that they deserve because I see them work every day, but I'm just playing football, man. I love going out there and just attacking." — Junior linebacker Curtis Jacobs on whether he feels overlooked by fans and media "For Penn State, an offseason of hope begot a season-opening 'Hell yeah.' The new golden-boy quarterback, sophomore Drew Allar, more than looked the part in a 38-15 win over West Virginia. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 325 yards and three scores, two to veteran KeAndre Lambert- Smith (four catches, 123 yards). The running back duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen com- bined for 121 rushing yards. … "The Nittany Lions battled injury and transition [in 2021] and bottomed out at 77th in offensive SP+ that year, but with a talent influx and a health- ier two-deep, they leaped to 14th and went 11-2 last fall. This year they're hoping for even more improvement, and damned if Allar didn't show all the promise Penn State fans hoped he would. He throws a sexy ball, and PSU's offense as a whole is pretty sexy at the moment. We'll see if that remains the case in games against strong defenses like Illinois' in Week 3 and Iowa's in Week 4." — ESPN writer Bill Connelly in his roundup of "college football overreactions" following Week 1 They Said It "The self-proclaimed Big Play Dre was all over the field yet again Saturday, marking the third straight game in which Lambert-Smith has hauled down three or more receptions and at least 83 yards to his name. He's also now on a three- game touchdown streak, having scored four times in three contests. Prior to that stretch, Lambert-Smith had broken the 80-yard threshold just once. Now it's a weekly affair. "There are a lot of things you can at - tribute to the sudden rise in produc- tion. There are the functional things like Lambert-Smith's necessary increased role in the offense without the likes of Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley in the wings. There's also something to be said for his approach and that never- give-up attitude. Heck, being happy has never hurt before. Sometimes that's all it takes." — Ben Jones, StateCollege.com columnist, on the development of junior receiver KeAndre Lambert- Smith, one of the stars of Penn State's win over West Virginia Junior wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith had 4 catches for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns in Penn State's opener against West Virginia. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL