James Franklin is taking his team on the road in Week 3 for its first B1G game of the 2023 season. Ahead of the Illinois game, Franklin was asked about Drew Allar’s preparedness for the first road start of his career.

Franklin said his second-year quarterback is doing everything asked of him. The head coach also noted that road prep began before this week.

“Well, like I keep saying with Drew, he’s doing all the right things and taking all the necessary steps,” Franklin told reporters at his Tuesday press conference. “We expect it to be a challenging road environment, but we didn’t wait until this week to prepare for that. Whether it’s crowd noise or whatever it may be, we’ve done that all training camp. Obviously we’ll major in it this week as well.

“But again, he’s doing all the right things in terms of preparation, in terms of watching film, in terms of nutrition, hydration, sleep. He’s getting more and more comfortable and confident in his leadership role on the team. So again, all these things are firsts, and it’s hard for me to sit here and tell you what he will be like and what we will be like in these situations until we’ve been through them.”

Allar made 10 appearances in relief as a true freshman in 2022. Franklin pointed out that Allar got a taste of a hostile road environment last year at Ross-Ade Stadium.

“I do think his game last year at Purdue was helpful,” Franklin said Tuesday. “You know, most importantly, I want to make sure by Friday night when we’re going to bed we’ve done everything we possibly can to have him and the team prepared to go play and play well.”

Saturday’s game in Champaign, Illinois is set for a noon ET kickoff, airing on FOX.