Penn State football coach James Franklin is reluctant to name his starting quarterback ahead of the opening game versus West Virginia. However, it's widely expected that Drew Allar will get the start.

Franklin said he doesn't want to officially name a starter because he doesn't want to give any excess information to opponents, but many across college football still find the choice strange.

“Penn State coach James Franklin declined to announce a starting QB for Saturday night's opener against West Virginia. Drew Allar widely expected to take the first snaps for PSU,” per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.

Drew Allar is expected to get the QB1 gig entering his sophomore year. He filled in for previous quarterback Sean Clifford throughout the 2022 season, but will finally get his shot after Clifford left for the draft. Clifford spent six years at Penn State and was the primary starter for four of those years. He is now the backup QB for the Green Bay Packers.

The Nittany Lions and Allar have high expectations going into the 2023 after winning the Rose Bowl last season. The good news is Allar has absolutely excelled through practice this offseason. Not only has he been accurate, but limited turnovers and made plays throughout practice.

Though James Franklin has refused to name a starter thus far, he has spoken positively about Allar, saying, “But I think Drew’s had, I would say, a good camp — a camp that’s given the coaches and his teammates a bunch of confidence,” per Johnny McGonigal of Penn Live.

If Penn State does go a different route than Allar at quarterback, they have options in Beau Pribula, Jaxon Smolik, and Jack Lambert.