Penn State quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] was among the 36 quarterbacks named on the watch list for this season’s Davey O’Brien Award.
The Davey O’Brien Award is awarded to the nation’s top quarterback by the Davey O’Brien Foundation. It was first awarded in 1977 to the top college football player in the Southwest but became a quarterback-only award beginning in 1981.
Allar is coming off his first season as Penn State’s starting quarterback. As a sophomore, Allar led Penn State to a 10-3 record with 2,631 passing yards and 25 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He is about to begin his second full season as the starting quarterback with a new offensive coordinator in Andy Kotelnicki. Expectations are high for Allar in 2024, and the pressure to be more consistent with his efficiency will be riding high after an up-and-down 2023 season.
Allar was also named on the watch list for this year’s Maxwell Award, which goes to the nation’s top college football player.
Penn State has two all-time winners of the Davey O’Brien Award. Todd Blackledge was the first of two Nittany Lions to win the award in 1982. Kerry Collins later won the award in 1994.
Last year’s winner of the Davey O’Brien Award was Jayden Daniels of LSU. The last Big Ten quarterback to win the award was Troy Smith of Ohio State in 2006.
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