Breaking down Penn State QB commit Drew Allar's performance at Elite 11
Penn State commit Drew Allar was among a group of talented quarterbacks who partook in the Elite 11 quarterback competition over the weekend in Los Angeles.
Rivals National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney was in attendance for the event, and, while Gorney noted that Allar got off to a slow start, his showing was a positive one overall.
"I would say that he started off the weekend slower than some other quarterbacks, but I think it was just him being at one of these events that he hasn't been used to, some of the drills they were asking to do," Gorney said. "His accuracy was off. But as that first night went on, and then especially into day two, I thought he was very, very solid. I thought he had a really good showing."
Impressive Size
Gorney and Rivals colleague Sam Spiegelman ranked Allar as the No. 9 overall quarterback at the event, noting that he outperformed the three-star ranking he currently holds.
A sticking point for Gorney was Allar's size. Listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Allar's physique stood out even amid this collection of elite talent.
"He was definitely one of the biggest and most filled out quarterbacks there," Gorney said. "So his size is certainly not going to be a problem.
"From a physical standpoint, I would say he was the biggest quarterback there. Maybe not the most filled out, but he's at least 6-4.5, 6-5."
A Different Template
Watching Allar in person, it's clear to Gorney that he represents something of a departure from the type of quarterback Penn State has recruited in the past.
The Nittany Lions saw great success with Trace McSorley using his mobility to make plays in the running game, and James Franklin and his staff have deployed Sean Clifford similarly at times.
In Gorney's view, Allar offers something different.
"I definitely think he's going to be a pro-style guy," Gorney said. "I don't think he's going to be a guy who's read-optioning, running. People at Penn State are used to McSorley doing those kinds of things, even Clifford, to an extent. You're not going to get a lot of that from him, which will be interesting to see how the offense changes."
In Allar, Gorney thinks, Penn State fans can look forward to a return to the style of quarterback play that the Nittany Lions often turned to in the 80's and 90's.
There won't be a lot of flash in Allar's game, but he did the simple things very well at Elite 11.
"[He has] a good arm, not a great arm," Gorney said. "I don't think he's going to be throwing from one hash to the other hash on one foot, those kinds of things. But where he really shined for me was when he took the ball off the tee, he did his five-step drop, he threw the ball.
"A lot of these guys, they like to throw off one foot, they like to side-arm it a little bit, show they can really spin it and all those kinds of things. He is much more of a traditional, what you would think of an 80's, 90's Penn State quarterback, where he's going to drop back or be in the shotgun and deliver the ball on time."
Rankings Bump?
Gorney said he will be advocating for Allar's elevation to four-star status when it's time for Rivals rankings to be updated, but he's not ready to put the future Nittany Lion among the Class of 2022's truly elite group after watching his showing in LA.
"It's really nothing negative," Gorney said. "We're talking about the best 20 quarterbacks in the country who were on that field except for one.
"There's like three or four guys — five guys maybe — and right after that would be Allar in that sense. Just from night one where he wasn't spectacular, to where he started to be very, very solid. That's kind of where I would place him among those quarterbacks."
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