The last three days have been a lot to handle for Penn State football.

The Nittany Lions dropped their third consecutive Big Ten contest against Northwestern and remain winless in conference play, which brought about the end of the James Franklin era. Whether you love him or hate him, Franklin’s departure has already had monumental effects on the Penn State community.

The program elevated cornerbacks coach Terry Smith to the interim head coach role as he looks to get Penn State back on track in any way, shape, or form. While Franklin’s absence already proves a large enough hole to dig out of despite Penn State’s struggles this season, the Nittany Lions now also have to navigate big matchups without starting quarterback Drew Allar.

Between Franklin’s firing, a mass decommitment movement, and just an overall sense of sadness clouding over Happy Valley since Saturday’s defeat, Allar’s season-ending injury has been overlooked a little bit despite its true magnitude.

Allar was the heart and soul of this Penn State team.

Allar was the fierce personality on the offense. He never backed away from a good hit, a tough run, or refrained from letting his emotions show when they were needed.

Allar always put Penn State first and ensured the status of the team before his own personal gain. He let up a possible first-round draft choice to return to the program and try and help lead it to a national championship after Penn State narrowly missed out on it at his hands.

Nobody wanted to win the big one more than Allar. He put everything into his performance and tenure as Penn State’s QB1. That alone deserves nothing but the respect of the fans and the wider college football community.

His teammates loved him. Whenever Allar made a mistake or threw a key interception, his teammates were the first to defend him and say that they supported him and trusted him at the helm. Devonte Ross has especially had his back through 2025, speaking highly of Allar despite his fatal pick against Oregon and following his injury against Northwestern.

“We all love Drew [Allar]. We not looking at him no differently. As soon as it happened, I went up to him, I told him I love him,” Ross said after the White Out. “Same thing for everybody else. We love Drew [Allar]. We got his back no matter what. This game comes down to a lot of plays, but one moment doesn’t define him.”

Allar wasn’t only at the center of love from his teammates, but the administration viewed him as the epitome of what Penn State football is all about. Athletic director Pat Kraft was emotional when talking about Allar and his college career-ending injury at his press conference in the wake of Franklin’s firing.

“He’s been through a lot, and he is that. He’s a kid,” Kraft said as tears welled in his eyes. “I think to see someone who’s gone through a lot at a young age, and anyone who ever doubts that young man’s commitment to Penn State and Penn State football, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

Allar did have his fair share of mistakes. There’s no denying that in the slightest. But I don’t want to dive into stats or ratings or rankings or any of that. Allar embodied Penn State football, and to see his story go out in this way is devastating.

To have negativity geared towards him is simply unfair to everything he has poured into this program. Whether Allar never fully met his potential from a mix of bad development from Franklin or whatever the case may be, that’s a story and conversation for a completely different time.

Allar deserves the full, unconditional support of Penn State fans through the lowest point of his career. He’s still a team leader and will be present in helping Ethan Grunkemeyer take command of the offense.

Thank you, Drew.