Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is known for his big arm, but it was his running power and quickness that were on display Saturday against West Virginia. Allar gained 44 yards on six carries, including four first-down runs, and energized the offense with his run game in the Nittany Lions’ 34-12 victory over the Mountaineers. The quarterback also moved well in the pocket, taking no sacks and few hits.
“We call him Lamar Allar,” Penn State coach James Franklin said postgame, referring to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. “I thought he ran better than people probably expected last year. He dropped 10 pounds, I think he’s done a really good job in the weight room becoming more explosive.”
Allar, who said he actually lost 11 pounds, worked with strength coach Chuck Losey this offseason to get leaner and more agile on his feet. Penn State’s roster lists him at 6-5, 235 pounds, and Losey described Allar as a “body composition guy” in July. Losey said that the staff’s goal was to lower Allar’s body-fat percentage, increase his lean mass and improve his movement qualities.
“You saw it during the spring; he’s moving around a lot more, and he’s going to have to be able to do that in the game, too,” Losey said of Allar this summer. “With any of our guys, we need them to be superior athletes. Movement has always been an area for Drew, when you look at our history and the types of guys we’ve had back there [at quarterback] with Trace [McSorley] and Sean [Clifford], we’ve always had some really good movement guys back there. And that’s always something that we’ve been trying to improve on with Drew.”
