Penn State's Drew Allar Has a New Resource in Jim Knowles

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar left Beaver Stadium to the sound of boos on Nov. 2, 2024. The result was another loss to Ohio State and another erratic performance by Allar against his home-state team. In two starts against the Buckeyes, Allar is 30-for-62 for 337 yards, one touchdown and one interception. 

Those performances furthered the narrative that Allar can’t perform in big games against elite defenses. Allar looks to squash that narrative this season with the help of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who showed the third-year starter his Ohio State scouting report of the quarterback from last season.  

“It was really positive feedback from the standpoint of I knew there were areas I needed to work on, but those kind of reconfirmed it,” Allar said at Big Ten Football Media Days in Las Vegas. “So just knowing those areas that showed up on film and trying to make those in the strengths for me this year, so those things don’t happen.”

When Knowles signed a three-year contract with Penn State worth north of $9 million, the focus was on how he would bring the Nittany Lions’ defense to the next level. Few discussed how he also could help Allar take that next step. 

During the offseason, Allar, Penn State coach James Franklin and other staff members sat down with Knowles and the staffers he brought from Ohio State. They watched the 20-13 loss from a season ago and keyed in on Allar. 

“I was able to sit down with him and a couple of other guys that he brought over from Ohio State and sit back and watch the game from last year and just understand their philosophy behind why they were calling certain things and maybe the tells that I had [and] we had as an offense,” Allar said. 

It was a rare occurrence for Franklin and Penn State, as the Nittany Lions had poached a top coordinator from an in-conference school. While Franklin and his team self-scout often, Knowles’ evaluation provided a fresh perspective from the coordinator who held Penn State’s offense to one touchdown the past two seasons.