Drew Allar’s poise in the pocket has been a ‘powerful trait’ fueling Penn State’s success

With hands in his face and just 10 seconds remaining in the first half, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar launched a 33-yard pass over the shoulders of diving wide receiver Liam Clifford, keeping his right foot on the turf to set up a buzzer-beating field goal against Illinois on Saturday.

Allar’s deep-range completion to Clifford was a bright spot on a day filled with adversity in the form of 208 passing yards on 16 of 33 pass attempts — his lowest completion percentage as a starter.

Nonetheless, Allar stayed poised in the face of affliction as the Nittany Lions defense forced five turnovers, ensuring a 30-13 road-opening victory.

“We were very close on a lot of those drives, especially after the defense forced a bunch of turnovers,” Allar said Tuesday. “We drove down to the goal line and didn’t finish, but we can’t get down about it … we got to be able to go out the next drive and bounce back from that.”

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There were missed reads, pre-snap penalties, and botched blocks. Saturday was anything but a smooth operation for a Penn State offense that showed few weaknesses in its first two outings against West Virginia and Delaware.

In his three games as a starter, Allar experienced a Beaver Stadium atmosphere on prime time and a Big Ten road game. All that’s left to prove is consistency against a ranked opponent, and Allar will get his first crack at one against No. 24 Iowa during Penn State’s annual White Out game on Saturday (7:30 p.m., CBS).

“We’re all going to take [the White Out game] in as a team, but we’re not going to let that distract us from what we’re supposed to do,” Allar said. “We have to go out on the field and handle the business first.”

Allar was a head turn away from a touchdown pass to a wide-open KeAndre Lambert-Smith on the opening drive of the second quarter against Illinois. But despite the missed opportunity, Allar still led a 12-play, 57-yard drive that concluded with running back Kaytron Allen in the end zone.

Allar’s presence in the pocket is reminiscent of his dance routine around Purdue defenders in the Nittany Lions’ 2022 season opener, his first college appearance — only now, he can display said presence for two halves instead of a single drive.

“That guy’s got a lot of poise,” tight end Theo Johnson said. “He never gets super high, super low; he does a really good job of that. I think that’s probably something that he’s beyond his years in.”

It took former starter Sean Clifford four seasons to truly define himself as a resilient quarterback capable of fighting through the thickest of adversity — whether completing a two-minute drill against the Boilermakers or a career-concluding win in the Rose Bowl.

In just three games, Allar has already shown flashes of resilience. Penn State head coach James Franklin is now calling on him to display a consistency in the air that will disorient the game plans of opposing coordinators who put too much of a priority on stopping the run.

“We have to consistently show people that we can throw the ball over their heads because right now there’s no doubt about it,” Franklin said. “I think Drew has shown what he’s capable of.”

He may be soft-spoken in front of microphones and cameras, but Allar’s teammates say he’s conducted himself like a veteran in practices and games.

Allar’s poise is contagious, Johnson said, and could be key to taking Penn State’s offense into uncharted territory this season.

Allar isn’t letting anything affect his cool, whether it’s a touchdown drive or a three-and-out. With great poise often comes better decision making, and Allar has yet to throw his first career interception.

“He did a good job this weekend at keeping myself and some of the other offensive leaders, who kind of got a little hot and cold, keeping everybody levelheaded,” Johnson said. “I think that’s a really, really powerful trait to have as a quarterback.”

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