Penn State head coach James Franklin has had the luxury of having pretty stable starting quarterback stability during his time as a head coach. Since Franklin came to Penn State, Franklin has had just four starting quarterbacks over the past decade, which is pretty rare in this day and age of college football. Three of those quarterbacks were named a first-time starting quarterback under Franklin’s watch; [autotag]Trace McSorley[/autotag], [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], and [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag]. Christian Hackenberg was an incumbent starter when Franklin was hired.
Allar had his ups and downs throughout his first season as a starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions, and he most certainly took on the job with the highest ceiling compared to his predecessors in the role. But Allar also may have had the toughest first year as a starter compared to McSorley and Clifford.
Numbers often only tell a fraction of the overall story when it comes to quarterbacks, but how did Allar’s first year as a starter compare to Clifford and McSorley? Let’s take a quick look.
| Comp. | Att. | Yards | TD | INT | Rating | |
| Trace Mcsorley (2016) | 224 | 387 | 3,614 | 29 | 8 | 156.9 |
| Sean Clifford (2019) | 189 | 319 | 2,654 | 23 | 7 | 148.5 |
| Drew Allar (2023) | 233 | 389 | 2,631 | 25 | 2 | 136.9 |
Notice any trends here? Things seem to be trending downward. The first-year starting quarterback for Penn State has seen a decline in passing yards and passer rating during Franklin’s time as head coach, although the difference between Allar’s numbers and Clifford’s are not too far off from each other. But Allar completed more than 40 passes more than Clifford did and still had 23 fewer passing yards. Allar also attempted 70 more attempts than Clifford did in 2019.
McCorley seems like the reception to the rule for quarterbacks under Franklin at this point, but it is also fair to point out the kind of offensive weapons McSorley had around him on that 2016 team. For starters, having Saquon Barkley in the same backfield is pretty darn nice. But, more importantly, McSorley had the best crop of wide receivers any of these three quarterbacks have had. And that is reflected in the numbers.
McSorley also had the best offensive coordinator of these three quarterbacks with Joe Moorhead. That is a major factor as well.
The hope is that new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will come in and find ways to rejuvenate the entire offense in 2024 with Allar at quarterback. Allar’s season had far too many frustrating moments, most notably in the three losses to Ohio State, Michigan, and Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. And it is fair to suggest Allar did not come close to matching the hype placed on him. That is one reason why the pressure in 2024 will be mounting. But spring will offer a chance to wipe the slate clean and get to work for the entire offense, including Allar.
Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.