"I hate the offense" - Aaron Rodgers' brother takes aim at James Franklin's Penn State while ranking Drew Allar among top 5 SEC QBs

After finishing the 2024 season with a 13-3 record, Drew Allar and Penn State will take the field for the 2025 season opener on Aug. 30 against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

As James Franklin continues the hunt for the Nittany Lions' first national championship since 1986, Allar enters his senior season with high expectations and huge challenges.

This week, Allar was included in the top-5 quarterback rankings of Jordan Rodgers, former quarterback, sports commentator and brother of Aaron Rodgers.

"I'd probably go one's Garrett Nesmire. I've said that all week," Rodgers said during his appearance on the Crain & Company podcast.

"I think he's the best quarterback in the entire country. I'd probably go two Cade (Klubnik). I'd probably go three. … his one might surprise some people. I'd probably go DJ Lagway at three."

As for the No. 4 spot, Rodgers named Allar but not without some criticism of Penn State’s offensive scheme.

"I'd probably go Drew Aller. And that's more so I hate the offense. It's gimmicky. I think he's a lot better than what we've seen."

In the 2024 season, Allar completed 262 of 394 passes for 3,327 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Nittany Lions quarterback is considered a top contender to be the leading quarterback prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft, making his inclusion on Rodgers’ list expected.

Rodgers rounded out his top-5 by naming Oklahoma’s John Mateer.

Analyst questions Drew Allar performances in high-stake games

Despite being eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft, Drew Allar has chosen to return to Penn State for another season.

With standout running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen returning, hopes remain high for a potential playoff push, but the departure of key offensive weapon Tyler Warren poses a big challenge.

Meanwhile, ESPN's Adam Rittenberg raised concerns about Allar's performances in high-pressure situations:

"His play under the brightest of lights has left something to be desired. He hasn't beaten Ohio State or Michigan, he delivered some good moments in a Big Ten championship game loss to Oregon but was still intercepted twice, and threw the crucial interception in a CFP semifinal loss to Notre Dame."

With 35 games, including 29 starts, Drew Allar's 2025 season will be closely scrutinized as a defining chapter in his college career.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

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Edited by Bhargav