Penn State’s Drew Allar looks forward, not back, after Orange Bowl loss

It took Drew Allar a “long week” to get over the final pass of his junior season at Penn State.

Allar’s throw to Omari Evans was intercepted by Christian Gray, which led to Notre Dame’s game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the Orange Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal 3.5 months ago.

“I was just not in a good state that week after,” Allar said Tuesday in his first interview with reporters since the 27-24 loss to the Irish. “Once I stepped back into the weight room for this season, I was really able to flush it because I had something to look forward to.

“Everything started to click for me again. It was flushing all of that stuff but definitely learning from it.”

Penn State quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien said earlier this month that he and Allar watched the entire Orange Bowl about a week after the game “once it wasn’t quite as fresh.”

“He consumed it very well,” O’Brien said. “He’s very coachable. Once the emotion died down, you could get into the nitty gritty of footwork, eyes and keeping it simple within the framework of the play.

“Hopefully we can earn our way back there one game at a time.”

The return of Allar and several of his classmates for their senior year has raised Penn State’s hopes for the 2025 season.

Running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, offensive linemen Drew Shelton and Vega Ioane, defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant and safety Zakee Wheatley followed Allar’s lead and decided to come back.

Allar completed 66.5% of his passes last season for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions, finishing 13th in the nation in pass efficiency. He has a chance to end his career as the Nittany Lions’ career leader in touchdown passes, completion percentage and pass efficiency.

He’s experiencing his…

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Publish date : 2025-04-23 03:52:00

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