Medina's Allar named 35th Annual Mr. Football Winner
By Rick Noland, The (Medina County) Gazette - For the OPSWA
The only thing Medina senior quarterback Drew Allar distributes better than the football is credit.
Named the winner of the 35th annual Ohio Mr. Football award by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association on Thursday, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Penn State commit was quick to praise others for helping him accomplish the feat.
"I'm super grateful for the honor and super excited about it, but I couldn't have done it without my teammates and coaches," Allar said. "It wasn't just me. We had a great team and a great coaching staff. That's why we were so successful.
"I don't think my teammates got enough credit for what they did. It always got circled back to me, and I don't think that was fair to them. Without them, I couldn't have done anything that I did this year."
What Allar did in 2021 was complete 305-of-509 passes (.599) for 4,444 yards, 48 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He added 128 carries for 382 yards and nine TDs as Medina finished 13-1 while advancing to the Division I, Region 1 final, where it lost to eventual state champion St. Edward. The Bees broke the 1922 and 1923 program record for victories in a season (10) and won the Greater Cleveland Conference for their first league title since 1973.
Springfield quarterback Te'Sean Smoot was runner-up to Allar in Mr. Football voting, while Upper Arlington running back Carson Gresock came in third. Other finalists were Marysville linebacker Gabe Powers, St. Clairsville offensive lineman Avery Henry, West Lafayette Ridgewood quarterback Gabe Tingle, Archbold quarterback D.J. Newman, Mount Orab Western Brown quarterback Drew Novack and LaGrange Keystone running back/linebacker Gideon Lampron.
Originated in 1987, previous Mr. Football winners have included Euclid's Robert Smith (1988, '89), St. Henry's Bobby Hoying ('90), Fremont Ross' Charles Woodson ('94), Westerville South's Andy Katzenmoyer ('95), Warren Harding's Maurice Clarett (2001), Copley's Delone Carter ('05), Mentor's Mitch Trubisky ('12) and The Plains Athens' Joe Burrow ('14).
Medina senior Drew Allar threw for 97 career TDs and ran for 14.
Photo by Jeff Harwell
Allar, who will finish classes at Medina later this month and begin attending Penn State in January so he can take part in spring football practices, now joins that illustrious group.
"You could see the skill level as he came up through the ranks, but through hard work and dedication, he's made himself into the player he's become," Medina coach Larry Laird said. "I'm not talking about just on the field or in the weight room. He studied film all the time.
"He has the strongest arm of any quarterback I've ever coached. It's at the highest level and, barring injuries, I think we'll see that in the future. He has the talent to go beyond even the college level."
A five-star recruit ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the country and No. 3 player overall by 247Sports.com, Allar didn't start for Medina until the eighth game of his sophomore year.
Directing an offense that used five wide receivers, he finished his career 630-for-1,149 passing (.548) for 9,103 yards, 97 TDs and 20 interceptions while adding 284 rushes for 826 yards and 14 TDs. The Bees also reached the D-I, Region 1 final in 2020, when they lost to Mentor.
"We were always throwing the ball and moving at a high pace," Allar said. "It was a really fun system to be a part of.
"We were a super tight group. We all played together growing up. For the senior class, we realized how good we could be. We just needed to put in a lot of hard work, and it really paid off for us these last two years."
Next up for Allar, who carries a 3.5 grade-point average and is undecided on a college major, is Penn State, where current three-year starting quarterback Sean Clifford has the option of returning for a sixth year in 2022.
"Penn State really fits me," said Allar, who chose the Nittany Lions over Notre Dame and Iowa State. "I'm really excited about it because of the family atmosphere they have there. That's a credit to the coaching staff and athletic department. They really set you up for success. You just have to take advantage of your opportunities.
"I still need to improve on a lot of things. The biggest thing for me at the next level is going to be the pace of the game. It's going to be a lot faster, but the competition we played at Medina will help me with that."
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter. Ohio Mr. Football Winners:1987: Buster Howe, RB-DB-K-P, Zanesville, Ohio State
1988: Robert Smith, RB, Euclid, Ohio State
1989: Robert Smith, RB, Euclid, Ohio State
1990: Bobby Hoying, QB, St. Henry, Ohio State
1991: Derek Kidwell, QB-DE, Fostoria, Bowling Green
1992: Marc Edwards, RB-LB, Norwood, Notre Dame
1993: Curtis Enis, RB-LB, Mississinawa Valley, Penn State
1994: Charles Woodson, DB-RB, Fremont Ross, Michigan
1995: Andy Katzenmoyer, LB, Westerville South, Ohio State
1996: Derek Combs, RB-DB-KR, Grove City, Ohio State
1997: Tony Fisher, RB, Euclid, Notre Dame
1998: Ryan Brewer, RB, Troy, South Carolina
1999: Bam Childress, DB-WR-KR, Bedford St. Peter Chanel, Ohio State
2000: Jeff Backes, RB-DB, Upper Arlington, Northwestern
2001: Maurice Clarett, RB, Warren G. Harding, Ohio State
2002: Ben Mauk, QB, Kenton, Wake Forest/Cincinnati
2003: Ray Williams, RB, Cleveland Benedictine, West Virginia
2004: Tyrell Sutton, RB, Archbishop Hoban, Northwestern
2005: Delone Carter, RB, Copley, Syracuse
2006: Brandon Saine, RB, Piqua, Ohio State
2007: Bart Tanski, QB, Mentor, Bowling Green
2008: Erick Howard, RB, North Canton Hoover, Akron
2009: Erick Howard, RB, North Canton Hoover, Akron
2010: Akise Teague, RB-DB-KR, Youngstown Ursuline, Cincinnati
2011: Maty Mauk, QB, Kenton, Missouri/Eastern Kentucky
2012: Mitch Trubisky, QB, Mentor, North Carolina
2013: Dante Booker Jr., LB, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Ohio State
2014: Joe Burrow, QB, Athens, Ohio State/LSU
2015: Keishaun Sims, RB-DB, Massillon Perry, Ashland
2016: Michael Warren, RB, Toledo Central Catholic, Cincinnati
2017: Joey Baughman, QB, Wadsworth, Elon
2018: Cade Stover, SS-RB, Lexington, Ohio State
2019: Evan Prater, QB, Wyoming, Cincinnati
2020: Corey Kiner, RB, Roger Bacon, LSU
2021: Drew Allar, QB, Medina, Penn State
