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James Franklin Handling Penn State’s Quarterback ‘Competition’ The Right Way

Don’t let James Franklin fool you. (Photo: GoPSUSports.com)

There are certain Penn State athletes that I think about and wonder what they’re up to nowadays. 

Paul Jones sits within the first five slots of my mental rolodex of forgotten Penn Staters. I don’t think anyone ever got the ovation quite like the one he got in that 2010 Blue-White game. You would have thought Penn State had trotted Todd Blackledge out there again. 

Fast forward three seasons later, and Jones was playing college football in Pennsylvania, except at Robert Morris and not Penn State.

Spring ahead to last year’s preseason game and the ovation Jones received was dwarfed by the one that Drew Allar got. Beaver Stadium erupted when No. 15 stepped onto the field to command the offense for the first time — even if it was just practice.

And that ovation hasn’t stopped since. 

Penn Staters impatiently sat through the final year of the Sean Clifford era so that we could all get to the main event. In my head, I’ve named Allar the starter for 2023, you’ve named him the starter and your polo-shirt sporting, New Balance wearing, Yuengling-drinking Penn State uncle has been calling him the starter for sometime. 

But James Franklin hasn’t committed to that language quite yet. 

The language the now 10-year head coach has chosen about Happy Valley’s seemingly “chosen one” has been telling of his coaching style when it comes to the second quarterback battle of his Penn State tenure — even if it’s likely already decided.

That language shows that Franklin isn’t just handing over the keys to his offense to Allar. He has to earn them. And that’s the right way to approach this quarterback “competition” if you can call it that.

“It’s been a really good competition,” Franklin told the media this spring. “Those guys are battling. Sometimes it’s hard to compare and contrast.”

All spring long, there have been numerous quotes and comments like that one about Allar and his running mate, Beau Pribula. All of it essentially saying the competition was open but if you read the tea leaves, you’d see it’s also closed at the same time.  

We know that Penn State is giving Pribula equal reps. We also know Pribula will likely be used the same way Tommy Steves was used in the Lion package. But Franklin’s word choice has also insisted Allar is the front runner by a decent distance and then some. 

“There could be some situations where Beau actually gets more reps by the end of spring because I think there’s some things that we may want to do with Beau to take advantage of his skill set and maybe create an opportunity for him to get some more experience, not only during spring ball but in games next year as well,” Franklin said recently.

Back when the Clifford-Will Levis race happened, we didn’t hear those types of things. In fact, we heard very little on who was taking over Penn State’s offense. 

Contrast that with the current race, it’s clearly Franklin sending a memo to anyone on his roster that spots aren’t given. They’re earned. Being open and honest about that as best as he can feels different than not really being sure who Penn State was starting in 2020. 

And making Allar earn the job — even if he doesn’t have to — is much better for his future than just handing him the job. 

With no disrespect to Pribula, there’s probably a reason why we saw Allar in 10 games last year and saw the PA native zero times. Allar has clearly proven to the coaching staff, who sees him more than anyone, that he’s the front runner of the two.

In game, while we haven’t seen a ton from Allar, what we have seen has largely been impressive. 

On opening night of the season at Purdue, Allar kept things calm while Clifford headed off to the bathroom training room. There were some impressive throws against Indiana, including two touchdowns. And while the game was already out of hand, there was enough respect from the coaching staff to let Penn State’s top QB prospect ever to lead the offense late in the Rose Bowl.

By all accounts, Allar is the quarterback Penn State needs to get over the hump and he’s making sure of it. He’s bulked up this offseason. He’s dazzled teammates in practice. Even Twitter videos of him this offseason were eye candy for Nittany Lion fans.

But let’s back up to that point about who sees him the most. Allar still has room to grow. It’s why when Penn State dads everywhere were calling for Clifford’s head on a platter last season, we didn’t see a quarterback change. Allar wasn’t there yet. Clifford was. Clifford had more experience, Clifford had more trust in the locker room and Clifford deserved to see the process through. Mike Yurcich and Franklin knew that Allar didn’t have those and he wasn’t fully developed. 

After all, Allar was a freshman. Feeding him to the Big Ten wolves could be as damaging as disrupting the locker room leadership just because Twitter wanted him over Clifford. 

It was the right way to handle a sixth year quarterback who had postponed his future for Penn State. At the same time, Franklin made sure to give Allar all of the opportunities he could and it’s paying off in year two.

Part of the reason Levis largely struggled at Penn State in 2020 was because he didn’t have the reps that Clifford did, especially in his early years. Now with Allar as the likely QB1, Franklin can make sure Pribula has the reps he needs should anything go sideways. 

Franklin is handling this next chapter the right way. He’s making sure that Allar earns this. He’s also making sure that if things – in the very unlikely chance – don’t work out, he can make a change quickly by treating Pribula as an equal.

This is the maturation of Franklin as a coach. I largely thought that 2022 was a year of learning from his mistakes. He’s continuing that in 2023 while being more candid about all of this. He’s being open because he wants to reset the expectations of Allar so that if — and hopefully when — things go right, they’ll taste sweeter. 

Whether Allar becomes the next Blackledge or Jones is yet to be seen. Saturday is, after all, just a spring game. But it’s all officially the start of the Drew Allar Experience. Just don’t let Franklin fool you. 

Matchup: Blue vs. White
Time: 2 p.m.
TV:
BTN
Announcers: Connor Onion, Matt Millen, Matt McGloin
Radio:
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Announcers: Steve Jones, Jack Ham, Brian Tripp
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Darian Somers
Darian Somers is a 2016 graduate of Penn State and co-host of Stuff Somers Says with Steve. You can email Darian at darian@stuffsomerssays.com. Follow Darian on Twitter @StuffSomersSays.

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