'A lot of things to be excited about' with Allar

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- There is sooooo much to like about Drew Allar and his potential as Penn State's starting quarterback.

Just listen to James Franklin, who went on and on for more than four minutes when asked last week about Allar's progress throughout the spring and summer.

Here's a detailed breakdown of everything Franklin pointed out to be excited about with Allar.

OLD-SCHOOL QB

Franklin started his lengthy response by pointing out Allar is more like what quarterbacks have been traditionally, until recently when the mold has kind of changed.

"He's probably more of what we used to call the prototype in the NFL," Franklin said. "That's changed. Now there's guys that are 5-foot-10 running around the NFL. Mobility has become a huge deal in the NFL, and that really wasn't the case in the past at that position.

"So he's more of kind of the old-school prototype quarterback. He's 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds."

Wow, just think about that aspect first. Ben Roethlisberger was like a linebacker playing quarterback for the Steelers, and he was 6-5, 240 pounds. So, right now, as a college sophomore, Allar is already the same size as Big Ben.

"I took him out to dinner the other day," Franklin said of his young QB. "He tried to convince me that he's leaner than he's ever been, even though he weighs more than he's ever been."

SIZE AND MOBILITY

Allar is big, but he's not a statue in the pocket. At least that's not what Franklin expects.

No, the QB isn't going to be the second coming of Michael Robinson or Trace McSorley as a runner. But given his size and athleticism, he very well could be a tough guy to bring down when he does run.

"He's got a body type that's gonna allow him to withstand some hits," Franklin said. "But I also think he has the mobility, and the size helps him sometimes to step out of an arm tackle or a sack when a guy reaches out."

PLENTY OF POISE

Allar played a good bit last season as a true freshman, but almost all of it was in mop-up duty when the games were out of hand. The exception to that was in the opener at Purdue, when Sean Clifford had to miss a series with a health issue and Allar was forced into the game.

"The thing that I think probably stood out to me the most is when he got in the Purdue game as a true freshman," Franklin said. "He just was like super poised. You can do all the drills you want throwing footwork and run game fundamentals and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, it's hard to teach that poise in the pocket. And he just seems to have that.

"There could be chaos all around him, and he's just efficient with his movement. Some guys move in the pocket more than they need to and they actually move into problems. Just moving enough, keeping your eyes up when you do scramble, he showed some some examples of that last year."

ARM STRENGTH

Allar not only has a cannon, all reports indicate he's very accurate throwing the ball. We didn't get to see him do much in games last year, but here's a quick little video of him throwing on target.

"He's able to make make people defend the entire field because of his arm," Franklin said. "Most college defenses will give you something; they have to. So, most college defenses are going to give you the furthest flat. Say the ball's into the boundary, they're going to try to make throwing into the boundary in the middle of field difficult, but they're going to give you to furthest flat, the field flat. Because most college (QBs) can't make those types of throws, whether it's an out or a hitch or a hinge or whatever you want to call it.

"He has the ability to make those throws and make you defend the 53 1/3, which is really valuable."

GREAT YAC INTANGIBLE

Franklin brought up an excellent point with relation to Allar's arm strength, as it pertains to yards after the catch. His explanation was interesting.

"Everybody gets excited about arm strength, but you better have accuracy," the coach said. "But when you do have arm strength and accuracy, it creates opportunities for yards after the catch.

"If I'm running the route on you, and I have separation from you, but the ball cones and if it doesn't have a whole lot of pace on it, now while I'm going to catch the ball, you're closing the distance and now it's a catch-tackle. If that ball can get to you fast where you still have separation, it creates an opportunity for a run after the catch."

MEETING ROOM

One of the great aspects of Allar being able to play behind Clifford last year was for the youngster to see how a veteran QB goes about his work. Franklin even joked about Clifford that he was "here for 14 years and left at 32 years old."

"He's also good in the meeting room," Franklin said of Allar. "I think Sean Clifford really helped with that.

"So, there's a lot of things to be excited about, but we got to build on it and take the next step."