Drew Allar headlines Andy Staples' Big Ten quarterback ranking

Football season's right around the corner and it's Penn State's year to prove it belongs at the top. The Nittany Lions have all the pieces from returners to transfers to bringing in new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State.

That doesn't mean everyone's sold on Penn State, though, and that's reasonable. There are a lot of questions surrounding if head coach James Franklin can get over the hump and finally win those meaningful games, and fans have yet to see quarterback Drew Allar in action fulfilling the offseason strides Franklin claims he's had.

For On3's Andy Staples, he's aware that putting Allar at the top of a quarterback ranking is controversial — but he did it anyway.

Andy Staples says Drew Allar is the best quarterback in the Big Ten

Allar isn't the top quarterback in the country, no doubt. Staples said that it's unlikely he'd be No. 1 in the Big 12 or SEC. In the Big Ten, though, he's the solid option to put first. Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon are all debuting new quarterbacks — Julian Sayin, Fernando Mendoza, and Dante Moore, respectively. Michigan is also expected to throw freshman Bryce Underwood into the fire over transfer Mikey Keene.

There's a lot of unproven talent going on in the conference under center, so it's unrealistic to throw those guys in the No. 1 spot. Looking at the quarterbacks to choose from, realistically Allar is the best and has the best shot at retaining that top spot through the playoffs as well. The "senior probably should have wowed us more by now," though, as Staples wrote.

Franklin said Allar needed to take a leap in almost all parts of his game and leadership in the offseason. He had a 66.5 completion percentage in 2024, completing 262 passes for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns. Allar also had eight interceptions, and very untimely ones at that.

Those mistakes can't happen, but Allar also can't shy away and fall back on running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen over and over again when he has a stacked offense beyond them on the periphery with Trebor Pena, Devonte Ross, and Kyron Hudson. He has the arm and the wide receivers he needs to make those big plays now; and a whole group of returning starters between him and the defense. The talent and experience is there for Penn State.

Franklin and strength coach Chuck Losey said Allar made those jumps in the summer, but fans will have to wait to see that showcased once the season gets going.