During 2025 Big Ten Media Days, Colin Cowherd spoke to Penn State football quarterback Drew Allar about his journey as a Nittany Lion and when he first started seeing his NFL dreams come into fruition.
"I didn't start playing quarterback until really my freshman year of high school . . . I think the first time I really realized [I could go to the NFL] was when I honestly started playing football here at Penn State, like being the starting quarterback," Allar said. "I think that's when it kind of really set in because obviously that's always been the dream of mine to have that opportunity to hear my name called and obviously I'm working towards it every day . . . I'm looking forward to when that time comes."
Allar is entering his fourth year at Penn State and his third season as a starter for the Nittany Lions. Pressure's high for the rising senior, but he's entering the season with more confidence and a chip on his shoulder to silence critics.
As a junior, he had a 66.5 completion percentage with 262 passes for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns. Allar also recorded 302 rushing yards over 96 attempts. Heading into year four, the quarterback is prepared to hit the ground running — literally. Head coach James Franklin said to Cowherd in a separate interview that Allar dropped 10 pounds in the offseason and that should translate well into his run game in 2025-26.
Between that and going into his second season under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, improvement should be evident, especially with an impressive supporting cast on offense in wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs.
"I can't believe I'm already in my senior year. It feels like I just stepped on campus yesterday."@colincowherd and @PennStateFball QB @AllarDrew reflect on his journey pic.twitter.com/gdeVo5mYcC
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 23, 2025
Allar is expected to be one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft, but he has business to take care of in Happy Valley before he hear his name called in April right in Pennsylvania.
"For me [right now], the biggest thing is going out with this season and competing week in and week out, enjoying every moment that I have left at Penn State because time has definitely flown by. I can't believe I'm already in my senior year. It feels like I just stepped on campus yesterday," Allar said. "So I'm really excited for this season to go out and prove the type of player I am, [and] the type of leader and teammate that I am because I've been putting in a lot of work this offseason with a lot of guys on the team and I'm really excited to really just spot the ball and play football again."