As anticipation builds around the 2022 season, Penn State fans have another reason to be excited.

James Franklin announced Monday morning that true freshman Drew Allar will serve as the backup quarterback for week one against Purdue.

Franklin says Drew Allar is the backup quarterback for week one.

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 29, 2022

“When we take all of the information, coaches’ opinion based on their gut and experience, data that we keep track of, we feel that Drew has earned that opportunity in week one,” Franklin said.

Christian Veilleux appeared to be the front-runner for the backup signal-caller role, but Franklin and Co. have decided to go with the true freshman at this point. Franklin stressed that it’s not set in stone for the entire year, and he expects the competition to still be fluid throughout the season.

“Taking everything into consideration, the coaching staff felt like this is the right decision,” Franklin went on.

Allar comes into this season with a lot of buzz, although Clifford has been solidified as the returning starter going back to the spring. After joining the program as the nation’s top quarterback recruit, the Medina, Ohio native didn’t quite stand out in the 2022 Blue-White Game, which made it unclear what his position on the depth chart would be. Now, Allar has worked his way up in training camp to solidify himself (for now) as QB2.

Penn State will hit the road this week to open its season with a primetime matchup with Purdue on Thursday, September 1. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. and will be televised on FOX.