Penn State HC James Franklin not yet ready to give nod to QB Drew Allar

James Franklin and his Penn State staff have a big decision ahead of them as they prepare for the 2023 college football season.

The Nittany Lions need to replace quarterback Sean Clifford, who led them to a 32-14 record over four seasons as the starter in Happy Valley.

That's no small task, because for all of his faults, Clifford was a trusted quarterback with starting – and winning – experience in the Big Ten. The competition to replace Clifford at Penn State is expected to come down to two young quarterbacks: Sophomore Drew Allar and redshirt freshman Beau Pribula.

Allar is a former five-star recruit, ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 class, per 247Sports. He appeared in 10 games last season as Clifford's backup, so he does at least have some experience. Pribula was just a three-star recruit and has zero college playing experience.

It would seem logical that Allar, considering his reputation and at least limited experience, would be a shoo-in to win the starting job this fall, but not so fast, according to Franklin.

Speaking at Big Ten Media Days (h/t On3), Franklin said he'd like to make a decision soon – but he's not yet ready to do so.

“Obviously the sooner the better. But we’re not going to rush any of these decisions at any of these positions," Franklin said, referencing all of his position battles, but clearly talking about the quarterbacks. "We grade everything and every practice, so all the data will be there. Obviously you’re going to trust your gut and your instincts on those things, as well, but you have the data to back it up. But I think at any of these positions, the sooner the better."

Speaking specifically about the quarterbacks, there are certain things he's looking for in either Allar or Pribula.

“It’s probably magnified at the quarterback position because you don’t rotate and play the same type of way that you do at some other positions. But it’ll be, obviously, watching how they move the offense,” Franklin said, “the confidence that their teammates have in them and then obviously a lot of the data and analytics go into it as well to make sure that what your gut is telling you aligns with what the numbers say.”

Again, it would seem that Allar is the natural fit to be Clifford's successor, so it is interesting to note that he's yet to receive the full-throated nod from his head coach.

Perhaps Franklin is just playing his cards close to the vest. It's either that or perhaps things are much closer between Allar and Pribula than they seem on paper.

If that's the case, that's not necessarily a bad problem for Penn State.