Penn State could have had everything last season, from the Big Ten championship to the national title. But they failed to make their moments count. If a loss against Oregon in the Big 10 championship game wasn’t enough. Penn State didn’t learn from the setback and fell short at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida. The Lions were inches from reaching the final. As fate would have it, they fell to Notre Dame by 27-24. To add to James Franklin’s misery, it was his QB1, Drew Allar, who handed the ball back to the Fighting Irish by throwing an interception in the dying minutes of the game. That interception came like a shocker. But the signs were all there from the beginning of the playoffs for those who wanted to see.

Penn State’s QB Drew Allar’s sack rate was 1.3 on average per game throughout the regular season. But, as the playoffs began, that rose to 2.7 sacks per game. Now, many would point to Drew Allar’s dwindling performances, and he looked sluggish throughout those 3 playoff games. This is, again, right, but that is not to say that other factors didn’t contribute to his downfall. Take, for example, the Oregon game. Although the Nittany Lions lost, Allar still had a good game. He threw for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns. Now, what exactly happened that Allar’s performance in the playoffs fell so drastically?

Thomas Frank Carr of the ‘Penn State Football Illustrated’ podcast provided the potential reasons behind Allar’s decline. “Nick Dawkins from the right side of the offensive line and also from Drew Shelton at times in the playoffs, they were not good. I’m not trying to defend what happened in the playoffs. There were things in the offense that changed when Anthony Donkoh was done for the year, where they stopped dropping back and throwing the ball on first and second down by about 10%.“

That’s exactly right. The injury to offensive tackle Anthony Donkoh seemed to have contributed to Allar’s decline in performance. This was a player who was named semifinalist to the Shaun Alexander Freshman Award and was having an exciting year. However, the right knee injury he suffered against Minnesota sidelined him for the rest of the season. So, the O-line struggles contributed to Allar’s decline in performance as players like Nick Dawkins and Drew Shelton failed to provide that edge. That is one of the many reasons why Thomas Frank Carr seems to be excited about Drew Allar’s 2025 season.

“Drew Aller is not as bad as Penn State fans think he is. He was good last year. He was a good quarterback. Almost everybody from a national perspective has him on their list, except Penn State fans, it seems. What he should be as a senior quarterback is all the things you’re saying in the chat are more accurate, i.e., not missing any layups; all those things I agree with you. The expectation this year is all that is fixed.“

Well, Drew Allar’s last season undoubtedly was good from a neutral standpoint. He improved on his 2023 season and provided reasons why he still has a high ceiling in every aspect. Drew Allar finished the season with 3,427 passing yards and 302 rushing yards, scoring 6 touchdowns and passing for 24 touchdowns. This is a massive improvement on his last season, as he improved almost 1,000+ yards and led his team to the playoffs. The mobility and pocket awareness the player showcased were something unmatched, and his pre-snap alertness in making decisions was quite accurate, too. All things considered, when you hear that he has improved on his weaknesses, that is undoubtedly something to look forward to.

Update on James Franklin’s injury woes

Penn State last season suffered from various injuries that plagued their season. Be it Anthony Donkoh, who it seems has a long road ahead. Or other players like Keon Wylie (LB), Andrew Rappleyea (TE), and Koby Howard (WR). Wylie even missed the whole season after suffering an injury in the spring practice last year. However, now it seems things are looking optimistic.

Tyler Donohue, talking on ‘Lions 247,’ delivered the news that Wylie is back and fed optimism for Penn State Nation. “I think he (Keon Wylie) was under 210 pounds; he was mostly an edge rusher, a really productive one in the high school, ranks at a really good program. So, we knew that he was not necessarily a project but a longer-term timeline in terms of his contributions, and you know, now it’s year four, and he’s going to have a really, really good opportunity ahead of him.”

Other than Wylie, Andrew Rappleyea is also making a comeback and had all the buzz going around on his return. Andrew was also out with a long-term injury he suffered at the start of the season against West Virginia. Then there is Koby Howard, who is returning from an injury. He broke his leg in June 2022 at Miami Legends camp. With Howard’s return, the wide receiver room will undoubtedly be brimming with confidence as newly acquired receiver Kyron Hudson from USC, Devonte Ross from Troy, and Omari Evans (415 yards) look to improve their previous season’s performance.