What Penn State Football signees are poised to make biggest impact in 2022?

On (Early) National Signing Day for the class of 2022, Penn State Football welcomed what currently ranks as the sixth best-recruiting class in the country and second-best in the Big Ten.

More often than not, recruits will need to take time to develop, both physically and mentally, to the college game, and they will not play much in their true freshman season, and many may even redshirt. That might not be the case for Penn State Football’s loaded 2022 class.

However, there are some that are either ready to play right away or are forced into action sooner than anticipated due to a lack of depth and/or production at a given position.

While we still don’t have many answers in terms of which players from this season’s roster will be staying or going, don’t expect to see many players from this 2022 class starting week one next fall against Purdue.

Whether it be as a starter or a role player, here are 10 Penn State Football players from the 2022 recruiting class who could make an impact in the coming season.

Penn State Football quarterback – Drew Allar

When Penn State Football fans think about the 2022 recruiting class, five-star quarterback Drew Allar is the first person that comes to their mind, and rightfully so.

247 Sports has Allar rated as the number one quarterback in the country for his class, and the number three overall player.

Although the offensive line has been one of the major issues during James Franklin’s tenure, the inability to bring in a quarterback as highly rated as Allar has also been an issue. The quarterback is arguably the most important position on the field, so it is important to have elite talent there.

Many fans surely think that it is a no-brainer that Drew Allar should be the starter from day one, especially given Sean Clifford‘s track record of being very inconsistent.

However, stars mean nothing once a high school player gets to college, and just because Allar will be the most physically talented quarterback in the room, does not mean that he will be ready to start right away.

Trevor Lawrence was the third highest-rated quarterback of all-time coming out of high school, and even he did not start his first month of the season his freshman year, despite having other-worldly arm talent.

It takes time for freshmen to adjust to the speed of the college game, identify more complex defenses than they have seen in high school, and learn their own more complex offenses that they are expected to run in college.

Even at the professional level, many of the game’s best quarterbacks sat and learned from more experienced guys for a while, even if just for part of a season.

Tom Brady sat behind Drew Bledsoe, Aaron Rodgers behind Brett Favre, and Patrick Mahomes behind Alex Smith.

So what does all of this mean?

Well, there is certainly a good chance that Allar does not take the field for Penn State Football’s first offensive possession in Week 1 next year at Purdue.

However, Sean Clifford will likely be on a much shorter leash than he has in the past, being that he has more talent behind him.

Allar will certainly get plenty of in-game opportunities early in the season against teams such as Ohio (week 2) and Central Michigan (week 4). These games will give him a chance to get live reps and gain experience, and also to prove himself in game situations.

Not that anybody wants to see a player get hurt, but given Clifford’s history of getting banged up, there is a chance that Allar may get his opportunity that way too.

Allar will make an immediate impact, whether he starts or not.

If Clifford continues to start deep into the season, it probably means that he is playing his best football knowing that a talented Allar is right there to take his spot at a moment’s notice.

Allar will provide competition to what will be a much deeper quarterback room than in past seasons, and when he is on the field, he has plenty of talent to make a positive impact out there as well.