Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509432
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M OFFENSE QUA RT E R BAC K : Fra n k l i n sa i d throughout the offseason that he was optimistic about how sophomore Drew Allar would play this fall. However, he did note repeatedly that being a backup, as Allar was during his true freshman season in 2022, and being the main man, as he is this fall, are very different. Allar's first collegiate start began spectacularly, with a 72-yard touch- down pass to junior receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith on Penn State's first possession against West Virginia. That play sent expectations through the roof, and it's hardly surprising that Al- lar wasn't able to replicate it on demand in the next four games, especially with several of the team's top receivers ailing. In the win over Northwestern, for in- stance, he completed a season-low 54.5 percent of his attempts for 189 yards. Through five games, Allar was 102 of 158 for 1,092 yards, with 9 touch- downs and no interceptions. The Li- ons weren't producing many "chunk" plays in the passing game, but they were holding onto the ball and keeping the chains moving with enough efficiency that they had topped 30 points in all five contests, extending the nation's longest streak of 30 or more points to 12 games dating back to last year. "All players at all positions would like to put up gaudy numbers," Franklin said. "He's done that at times, but I still think there's a lot of low-hanging fruit for us." The next step here is cutting out the misfires that put the Lions off schedule too often. That's easily been the big- gest concern so far this season. It's hard to discern when it's Allar's fault versus that of his receivers not being where they should be. Either way, though, some of the incompletions have come on wildly inaccurate throws, and cutting those out will keep the team moving in the right direction and limit turnovers. Grade: B+ RUNNING BACK: Fans and report- ers spent a lot of time asking a simple question throughout Penn State's 5-0 start: Where were the explosive runs? The Lions had 14 rushes of 30 or more yards last season, which was among the best nationally in that category. Through five games this year, Penn State had none. In fact, only 2 of its 231 rushes to that point in the season had even covered 20 yards. The team's longest run from scrimmage was a 21- yard carry by backup quarterback Beau Pribula in the fourth quarter at Illinois. Sophomores Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen have each had chances to make chunk plays, but too often they haven't been able to keep their balance or make that one last defensive player miss. Nevertheless, the team's average of 194 rushing yards per game was fourth- best in the Big Ten, and the Lions have shown they can close out games on the ground when they need to. Redshirt se- nior Trey Potts, a Minnesota transfer, has been a nice addition. When Allen was injured during the first half of the Northwestern game, Potts came on in relief and scored 2 touchdowns. Even with the Nittany Lions struggling to generate big plays in the passing game, sophomore quarterback Drew Allar was still fifth in the Big Ten with an average of 218.4 yards per game. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL