INDIANAPOLIS — James Franklin knew he would get asked about Drew Allar and Penn State’s quarterback situation. Might as well get out in front of it.

Franklin, standing at the Lucas Oil Stadium podium, said the Nittany Lions are still in the “competition phase” of the battle between Allar and Beau Pribula.

So no, Franklin was not prepared to declare a starting quarterback on the first day of Big Ten media days. He didn’t lay out a firm timetable for a decision, either.

“Everybody wants to talk about quarterback,” Franklin said in his opening statement. “Obviously, there’s a lot of people talking about Drew and what he brings to the table, and he was able to get a ton of experience last year. … I understand why the excitement is there. But Beau Pribula is a guy that everybody in our program has a ton of respect for, as well. So that’s going to be an interesting competition.”

“I think at any of these positions, the sooner, the better,” Franklin added. “It’s probably magnified at the quarterback position because you don’t rotate and play the same type of way that you do in some other positions. But it’ll be about watching how they move the offense, the confidence that their teammates have in them and obviously a lot of data and analytics that go into it, as well, to make sure that what your gut is telling you aligns with what our numbers say.”

Allar is the expected successor to Sean Clifford after the veteran ran out of eligibility and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Penn State finds itself without an incumbent quarterback for the first time since 2019.

Franklin and his staff have prepared Allar to be the next man up, though.

Allar, after beating out Christian Veilleux for the backup job last August, played in 10 games as a true freshman. The blue-chip Ohio native completed 35 of 60 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns. He saw the field and held his own in both the season opener at Purdue and the season finale in the Rose Bowl.

Franklin mentioned that brief appearance at Purdue in which Allar filled in for Clifford and looked the part. Franklin also complimented Allar on his 6-foot-5, 243-pound frame, his athleticism and his cannon for an arm.

But in a separate media session after his news conference, Franklin didn’t entertain a question about Allar’s potential as Penn State’s quarterback of the future.

“For me to sit here and talk about his ceiling when he hasn’t started a game in college football, it’s hard to say,” Franklin said.

Perhaps he’ll be more open to that question this fall, once the dust settles on the impending quarterback competition.