CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL: OLE MISS VS PENN STATE

December 27, 2023

Drew Allar

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Penn State Nittany Lions

Quick Quotes

Q. Drew, what have you seen from Ole Miss defensively on film, especially in the secondary?

DREW ALLAR: Yeah, we've been saying it all bowl prep that they're a very multiple team, play a lot of even and odd fronts. So we're going to have to be tight on communication up front, whether it's run blocking schemes or pass protection.

But as far as their secondary, they've got two really good corners. Safeties are really rangy too. Their corners are impressive. They have a good ability to fall off on routes, pretty savvy, and they've got both pretty good length. With length usually comes tightness, but that's not the case with these corners. They've got really good length and speed, so they're able to track different routes and play the ball really well in the air.

It's going to be very important just to make sure I see in front of wherever I'm throwing and don't let those guys get shots on the receiver or make a play on the ball.

Q. Are there any players in particular that stick out to you?

DREW ALLAR: Really just both the corners in general, especially down in the red zone. They use their bigger frame well and jam the receivers pretty well. Yeah, the corners are really impressive for sure.

Then their linebackers are good. They're fast. They play downhill. They make up for like just the outside runs that are able to track sideline to sideline. So they're a really impressive defense.

Q. Is there anything harder this year than you anticipated, or what was easier than you expected?

DREW ALLAR: I don't know, probably the hardest thing was just like the recovery throughout each week. Obviously last year I wasn't the starter, so I wasn't taking the hits that Sean was taking last year. Being in that role this year, I definitely took my fair share of hits. So I learned how to protect myself throughout the year.

But recovery is one of the biggest things that goes into the next week's game and making sure you're going as high of a percentage as you can be going into that game. I think recovery was the hardest thing I learned.

Easy was probably just watching film for me. That's the fun part for me, breaking down each defense. Like Danny says, it's like fitting puzzle pieces together each week trying to solve the puzzle. That's been the funnest part this year and probably the easiest part for me.

Q. -- told us that you guys spoke and talked about Danny and how much you wanted him to be a part of it. What do you remember about that conversation, and why do you have such an affinity for Danny?

DREW ALLAR: One of my things was I felt Danny was great for the room. Not only for me, but Danny fits the whole quarterback room really well, and we just needed him around for that and be that stable guy in that room, kind of be the mediator between whoever the new OC was at that point because obviously Coach K wasn't hired at that point and Coach Franklin, since Coach Franklin is the head coach.

I think Danny aligns with the program in the right way and obviously played under Coach Franklin for a year at Maryland, so he knows how to operate under a Coach Franklin offense and just philosophy. So I thought that was very important to have in the room.

Danny played in big-time college football, obviously Power 5, and then played in the CFL for multiple years. He just brings a lot of experience and knowledge to that room. I think he just relates to everybody really well.

Q. You mentioned he's a great fit. What is it about his personality and yours, Jackson's, and Beau's personalities to kind of create that mesh?

DREW ALLAR: Honestly, I think it's because he's a younger coach. I don't know. I think me, Jackson and Beau all have different personalities, but I think we all mesh together really well. That's why we've been such a successful unit this year. I think Danny just fits that mold really well. He's going to treat everybody the same. He doesn't have any favorites in the room. He's going to make us prepare like we're all starters, which is very, very beneficial for all of us. I think that's what makes him such a great fit for us.

Q. The way Andy described it to us is next year it's going to be him, James, Danny all coaching the quarterbacks. What excites you about that setup?

DREW ALLAR: Honestly, it sounds like it's going to be pretty similar to what it's been the past couple of weeks. Obviously with Coach Seider and Coach Howle being the co-OCs, they've been coaching the quarterbacks technically too and having input on the plays and asking me what I like and what I don't like and what I think about the defense and maybe what we should get in.

I think that's what's going to make the offense successful is the collaborating voices and minds in that room with the coaching staff, and I think they're going to do a great job of putting us in positions to go out and make plays like they have been during the last two weeks of the regular season.