Penn State QB Drew Allar learning from ‘humbling’ CFP loss

Drew Allar was a week removed from Penn State’s College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Notre Dame before sitting down with quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien and watching that play — the unfortunate interception that ended the Nittany Lions’ season in the Orange Bowl.

Allar was trying to lead a game-winning drive with less than a minute to go. His pass targeting Omari Evans found the hands of cornerback Christian Gray, and the Irish kicked a game-winning 41-yard field.

Allar was emotional after the Orange Bowl. Anyone in his position would be. But seven days later, after Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen and Dani Dennis-Sutton announced they were returning and the page turned to the offseason, it was time to have a closer look.

Allar and O’Brien broke down the entire 27-24 loss to Notre Dame, beginning to end, when the wound wasn’t as fresh. And of course, they pored over the game-changing pick.

“He consumed it well,” O’Brien said Tuesday night of the film session with Allar. “He’s very coachable. And once the emotion kind of died down, you get into the nitty gritty of your footwork, your eyes and just keeping it simple within the framework of that play. I think once the noise dies down, the emotion, you can see it a little clearer.”

O’Brien emphasized that plays like that have to become “learning moments.”

“They’re human beings. Failing on such a big stage in a big spotlight, it’s humbling,” O’Brien added. “But it puts a chip on their shoulder going into this offseason in terms of, ‘We’re that close.’ It’s those little gains that will get us over the hump.”

Allar and the Nittany Lions are in the process of making those little gains. Penn State is halfway through 15 spring practices, the last of which will be the Blue-White game. Summer workouts will lead into training camp, and the 2025 season will be here before we know it.

The past is in the past. Some players and coaches, like O’Brien, have acknowledged that coming so close last season is a driving factor for this year’s group. But at the same time, Penn State is still holding onto James Franklin’s one-game-at-a-time mantra. All the Nittany Lions can do is try to improve on a daily basis in pursuit of their ultimate goal.

That’s what Allar is pushing to do this offseason. He made strides in 2024 after a “good, but not good enough” debut season as the starter in 2023. In his first season with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, Allar’s numbers (66.5% completion percentage, 3,327 yards, 8.4 yards per completion) improved drastically. He looked more comfortable, too, commanding the line of scrimmage, showing better pocket awareness and getting through his reads quicker.

Allar had an opportunity after last season to leave for the 2025 NFL draft. Given his progress and this year’s weak crop of quarterbacks, he would have likely been a first-round pick. Allar’s talent and measurables could have even made him a top-15 pick.

But with the way last season ended, it was obvious Allar had some things to work on.

“He just needs to take the next step in really every area, which is what he’s done every year since he’s been on campus,” Franklin said. “So I fully expect him to do it again.”

O’Brien talked more specifically about the balance between being a game manager and being a game-changer — knowing when to play it safe and knowing when to be “an eraser.”

“You can really only do that through playing,” O’Brien said. “And through playing a lot comes success and failure, which I think will be the biggest thing for him this coming year, knowing when to pick and choose those spots.”

How Allar grows in that area will play a massive part in how far the Nittany Lions go in 2025. They want to win it all. Everything Penn State has done this offseason, from player retention to shelling out for defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, has made that abundantly clear.

The Nittany Lions return Singleton, Allen and most of the offensive line. But all-world tight end Tyler Warren is off to the NFL, and the wide receiver room is a state of flux. The pressure will be on Allar to guide this team to where it wants to go — to the Big Ten championship, to the CFP and, ultimately, to the national title game, which will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Fitting.

“Hopefully we can earn our way back there one game at a time,” O’Brien said. “But now it’s, I’ve been there and I know. I tell him all the time, ‘Whether it’s spring ball practice seven or it’s the Orange Bowl, third-and-goal to win the game, the play is the play.’ Keep it simple, rely on your muscle memory, and trust your training. That’s the biggest takeaway.”