Penn State football begins the 2022 season on Thursday night when they head to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers at 8 pm on Sept 1. To start the week, Penn State had various players available to the media, and head coach James Franklin held his weekly press conference. Greg Pickel of Blue White Illustrated joins host Thomas Frank Carr on the BWI Daily Edition to break down what they heard. They start with the biggest news of the day; five-star quarterback Drew Allar is getting the backup nod over second-year passer Christian Veilleux.
Franklin’s comments came near the end of Monday’s 35-minute discussion with the media. First, Pickel and T-Frank discuss what we know and don’t know about the situation behind starting quarterback Sean Clifford. Then Pickel details the journey that Allar, an early enrollee, took this season. The five-star signal caller wasn’t the early leader in the competition between true freshmen. Instead, he and fellow 2022 quarterback Beau Pribula dueled in the spring, with Pribula being the early standout.
But reports were during training camp that Allar rounded the corner and had begun to make strides. Apparently, those strides were significant enough to move him ahead and create competition with backup Christian Veilleux.
They also discuss the camp battle between Hunter Nourzad and Saleem Wormley at guard. Franklin updated that situation on Monday to include left guard Landon Tengwall in the discussion. Finally, t-Frank and Pickel discuss the pros and cons of playing three players at guard and how that can be a good thing or a bad thing. Pickel cites past situations that looked similar at the start of the year but produced sub-par results. Meanwhile, T-Frank points to the opportunity for competition to raise the level of play for each player.
Lastly, T-Frank and Pickel dive into the conversations that Pickel had with the players available during the day for Penn State. T-Frank asks for Pickel’s assessment of what they said and what interesting things stood out about their comments. Pickel left those conversations with one big takeaway.
The day isn’t over for Penn State football. Check out Blue White Illustrated on YouTube this evening for Penn State highlights and a recap of the open practice period.
Finally, tune in 20 minutes after the conclusion on Penn State and Purdue on Saturday for the BWI Live Postgame show featuring Thomas Frank Carr and Tom Hannifan.
Drew Allar update | James Franklin press conference recap
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