Drew Allar didn’t begin seriously playing quarterback until his freshman year of high school. At the time, he was still very raw and had to work through several changes to his throwing mechanics. He later transformed from a three-star recruit into the No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 class, and now, he holds a 23-6 record as Penn State’s starting QB.On Wednesday’s "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Cowherd discussed quarterbacks like the Tennessee Titans' Cam Ward and the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes. They both faced early challenges but eventually emerged as stars.Allar had a chance to enter the 2025 NFL Draft as an early first-round pick but chose to return to Penn State for another season. During the podcast, Cowherd asked Allar when he first began to believe he could play football professionally.Allar responded candidly:"When I honestly started playing football here at Penn state likes being the starting quarterback uh... I think that's when it kinda really set in because obviously that's always been a dream of mine to have the opportunity to hear my name called and obviously I'm working towards it everyday."For now, Allar is focused on making the most of his final season with the Nittany Lions:"Time has definitely flown by. I can't believe I'm already in my senior year. It feels like I just stepped on campus yesterday so I'm really excited for the season and to improve the type of player I am, the type of leader and teammate that I am."Drew Allar addressed Penn State's struggle against big programs Drew Allar wrapped up the 2024 season with personal bests in passing yards (3,327) and a 66.5% completion rate, along with 24 touchdown passes. He led Penn State to a strong 13-3 finish, though all three losses came against top-tier programs in Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dame.Speaking at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, Allar acknowledged the need for improvement in high-stakes matchups:"We definitely need to find different ways to come out with different results in those games. We haven't really been blown out of the water by any team. ... It's just about execution ... finding those areas to make one or two more plays throughout those games. ... That's going to be our focus."One of those challenging moments came in Penn State’s narrow 27-24 loss to Notre Dame on Jan. 19, when Drew Allar threw a costly interception with merely one minute left. He aims to build on those experiences in the 2025 season.