Through the early portion of the 2024 season, it’s been peaches and cream for former 5-star quarterback Drew Allar. With fortuitous matchups and clean pockets, not much has gone wrong or has been asked of Allar on his way to a perfect start to his junior campaign.
A prospect with the prototypical size, arm talent, and decision-making that have made him one of the most intriguing quarterback prospects in the country, Allar’s profile will begin to clarify itself with a matchup against the No. 19-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini in Happy Valley on Saturday. It’s a matchup, simply, that represents a significant opportunity for Allar to prove he can deliver elite production against what the scouting industry calls a ‘good bump.’ In layman's terms, good competition.
Despite his strong play so far this fall (8 TDs to 1 INT), questions linger about how he’ll perform under the pressure of facing more talented defenses as the weeks progress. For the Illini, while the days of Devon Witherspoon, Quan Martin, Sydney Brown, and Jer’Zhan Newton are in the past, their historically physical defense and experienced roster will provide Allar with a nice test.
Beyond the numbers, demonstrating the mental aspect of what it takes to succeed at the highest level is a trait NFL evaluators will watch closely as Big Ten play kicks into high gear. Setting protections, identifying coverages pre-snap, exploiting space, and an improved internal clock will all encompass Allar’s evaluation as the pre-draft process continues. Perhaps most importantly, Allar’s leadership both on and off the field will take center stage.
While teammates have praised his calm demeanor and confidence under pressure in prior games, Allar’s ability to lead the Nittany Lions to its first major win of the campaign will lay a nice foundation for what’s to come. For a program that hasn’t seen a quarterback selected in the first round since Kerry Collins in 1995, Allar’s continued progression will allow Penn State to anoint itself among the legitimate national title contenders.
The matchup against Illinois is more than just a chance for Allar to lead Penn State to a top-25 win, it’s a massive opportunity to prove himself on the biggest stage of the 2024 season to date. His early-season performances against West Virginia, Bowling Green, and Kent State have shown flashes of elite talent (as we saw in 2022 in spurts), but there isn’t a single general manager in football who’ll draft a player on night one due to immense production against primary Group of Five competition. It’s no flack toward that level of ball—there’s NFL-level talent scattered throughout Group of Five schools—but it’s been a constant point of conversation surrounding Allar.
Saturday in State College has the potential to be a defining moment for his draft stock. A strong performance against a ranked Illinois team, especially if he can handle their exotic pressures while pushing the ball downfield on high-leverage downs, could help solidify his standing as one of the premier draft-eligible signal-callers next April.
