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Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar looks to throw a pass during the third quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State Coach Is 'Heartbroken' for Quarterback Drew Allar

Originally posted on Penn State Nittany Lions on SI
By Chase Fisher | Last updated Oct 23, 2025 7:00 PM ET

Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki gave quarterback Drew Allar some advice recently. He told Allar, who underwent surgery to repair a broken ankle and is out for the season, that he has a “chance to approach all this with a new perspective.”

“The only thing about an injury that's positive is that as a player, you have a chance to view football from the outside, almost like you do a coach, and that perspective can be very, very valuable for your future,” Kotelnicki said on a Zoom call. “I think if you ask any player who's ever gone through an injury, they would tell you that. So he's going to gain that experience, which is going to continue to better him and grow him.”

Allar has begun the next phase of his career after sustaining a season-ending injury against Northwestern on Oct. 11, one day before head coach James Franklin was fired. Allar won’t be on the field for the game he likely looked forward to most this season: Penn State’s Nov. 1 visit to Ohio State, the school located about 100 miles from his hometown of Medina.

Kotelnicki said he’s “heartbroken” for Allar, who developed a reputation as a tireless worker and fearless competitor. In a Zoom call prior to his injury, Allar said that he spent more than 14 hours a day (from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.) in the Lasch Football Building preparing for games.

Yet Kotelnicki also said that he’s “excited” about Allar’s future and expects him to bring that same work ethic to what he does next.

Still, Kotelnicki said, people outside the team can take that effort for granted. And when he has an uneven performance, no one hurts more than Allar. He also left a legacy at Penn State.

Allar finished his Penn State career ranked fourth in career passing yards (7,402), third in touchdown passes (61) and first in completion rate (63.2 percent). But before he got injured, Allar always took the blame alongside Franklin.

'It's very, very humbling'

Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

In early October, Allar delivered a personal defense of Franklin after the team's loss to UCLA, saying that, "Nobody really knows what he's going through other than him." Kotelnicki said the same about Allar regarding the quarterback's injury.

“To a lot of people, we're just a college football version of 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians',” Kotelnicki said. “We're just a reality show. And people love the drama and the soap opera that revolves around college athletics. Who's getting hired, who's getting this job, who got fired, who's going to the portal.

“People love that stuff. It's a soap opera. It's sports entertainment. And so a lot of times, everyone overlooks the effort that individuals put into performing at a high level, and he's put a ton of effort in, and it just breaks my heart to know that it ended with an injury.

"From the human side of it, I'm heartbroken for him as a person. He's not just a gladiator in the arena. He's a human who's worked really, really hard to do it. So when you see that first-hand, when you're a part of that journey with somebody and it doesn't work out, it is very, very humbling. And it's real."

What's next for Drew Allar?

Allar, 21, has run out of NCAA eligibility, and the six games he played in this year make him ineligible for a medical redshirt. To continue to play in college, he would need a medical waiver from the NCAA, which is ulikely. The NCAA's Division I Cabinet announced that it will not expand athletic eligibility to five years, eliminating that possibility next season.

The NCAA says in a statement that current eligibility rules will remain through at least 2026-27. That means 4 seasons of athletic eligibility over 5 years.

A lot of coaches/players had been hoping for five-for-five (5 years to use 5 seasons of eligibility). pic.twitter.com/S6MRgiQDMm
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 22, 2025

Thus, the senior most will likely enter the 2026 NFL Draft. Allar delayed the draft last year and returned to Penn State for a potential national-championship run despite receiving a first-round draft grade, according to Franklin. Now, that has changed.

Allar often struggled this season, averaging 183.3 yards passing per game and eight touchdowns against opponents with a combined record of 23-19. His starting quarterback rating of 55.9 before the Northwestern game ranked 76th nationally and 14th in the Big Ten.

Still, Kotelnicki said that the franchise that drafts Allar will get a talented quarterback.

“You’re going to see a cerebral guy who you could put things on his plate to make plays right,” Kotelnicki said. “He's got tremendous arm talent to do it, and he'll be able to operate whatever offense it would be at a high, high level. And he's just a fantastic dude. I'm crushed for just how it all went for him this year.”

“What happened?” Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki was asked about his offense this season. His summary:

Penn State Athletics pic.twitter.com/6DBkK8gYHY
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) October 22, 2025