STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WHTM) – Penn State’s quarterback Drew Allar has two games as a starter under his belt, both of which resulted wins in Beaver Stadium for the Lions. Now Allar will take on a new challenge in his first away game as a starting quarterback against Illinois on Saturday.

“For us, it’s do everything we possibly can to prepare as a team, and specifically for Drew as well,” Head Coach James Franklin said. “To get him as prepared as we possibly can for what it will be like to be on the road.”

Franklin stated that they have been preparing for this upcoming game for a while.

“We expect it to be a challenging road environment, but we didn’t wait until this week to prepare for that,” Franklin said. “Whether it’s crowd noise or whatever it may be, we’ve done that all training camp.”

Franklin noted that Allar has been doing his own preparation by watching film, getting proper nutrition, staying hydrated and getting enough sleep.

“I want to make sure by Friday night, when we’re going to bed, we’ve done everything we possibly can to have him and the team prepared to go play and play well,” Franklin said.

Franklin said that he believes the action Allar saw against Purdue in Penn State’s opening game last season was “helpful”. In the Sept. 1, 2022 Nittany Lion win Allar went 2-for-4 with 26 yards.

It is still mostly unknown territory Franklin noted, saying that it’s hard to judge how it will go for Allar.

“All these things are firsts and it’s hard for me to sit here and tell you what he will be like and what we will be like in these situations until we’ve been through them,” Franklin said.

According to Franklin, Allar is feeling more secure in his role as starting quarterback after being able to stretch his legs in two Penn State wins.

“He’s getting more and more comfortable and confident in his leadership role
on the team,” Franklin said.

It will be a new experience for the Sophomore and is another test he will have to face in his new role at the helm of the Nittany Lions.

Allar has a 78.5% pass completion percentage across the first two games against West Virginia and Delaware. The Medina, Ohio native has averaged 278.5 yards per game and accumulated a total of five touchdowns, one of which was rushing.

Allar and Penn State will kick off against the Illinois Illini at noon on Saturday.