Drew Allar's traits might be enough to impress NFL scouts enough to draft him in the first round, despite Penn State's struggles. (Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)
Drew Allar arrived at Penn State carrying the kind of expectations that swallow quarterbacks whole.
He was the crown jewel of the Nittany Lions’ 2022 recruiting class, the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country, a 6-foot-5 rocket-armed passer from Medina, Ohio, who was viewed by many as the missing piece to finally elevate Penn State into the national championship conversation.
Four years later, Allar leaves Happy Valley with flashes of brilliance, a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance, and a résumé that remains one of the more polarizing quarterback evaluations in recent memory.
Polarizing Legacy: Drew Allar’s Heavy Expectations, a Leap to Pittsburgh
Now, the next chapter begins with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
One of the men who knows Allar best, Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin, who coached every snap of Allar’s collegiate career, believes he has still untapped potential at the NFL level.
“He’s got a ton of traits,” Franklin told NFL Insider Matt Lombardo of Between The Hashmarks. “That people have been talking about for the last two years. He’s big, strong, more athletic than people realize, and he has the ability to make any throw on the field.
“There have been people talking about Drew and his potential for the past two years, and he’s shown flashes of brilliance. So, yeah, I think there are enough tools there that he has the chance to become a franchise quarterback. But, just like with all of these players, it’s about consistency.”
After a collegiate career plagued by inconsistency, perhaps for the first time in years, Allar gets something he never truly had at Penn State, some room to breathe.
The Steelers selected Allar with the No. 76 overall pick in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, taking a calculated gamble on traits over production.
That distinction matters because few quarterbacks in college football embodied the phrase “looks the part” more than Allar.
“He has high-level arm talent,” an AFC South Scouting Director told Lombardo, of Allar. “Inconsistent production, but has the arm, has the ability to throw from the pocket, and to throw on the move.”
Can Mike McCarthy and the Steelers Rebuild Drew Allar?
That one word followed Allar everywhere at Penn State.
Consistency.
Or more accurately, the lack of it.
Against elite competition, Penn State often needed Allar to elevate the offense.
Too often, instead, the offense stalled.
James Franklin Speaks Out: The Untapped Potential of a Franchise Quarterback
Allar’s performances in marquee games against Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame became central talking points in evaluating his legacy in Happy Valley.
Some of that blame fairly belongs around him.
Franklin acknowledged Penn State never consistently gave Allar enough explosiveness at wide receiver to truly scare defenses vertically.
“As you know … we had some challenges there,” Franklin admitted. “We were able to run the ball, and we had some tight ends that were making good plays and some wide receivers who flashed at times, but we weren’t consistent enough, and we didn’t scare people enough at wide receiver.”
Still, franchise quarterbacks are ultimately judged by whether they transcend problems around them.
At Penn State, Allar rarely did that often enough.
Can the Steelers Mold the Clay?
But here’s the fascinating part.
According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, the Steelers are essentially rebuilding Allar from the ground up during rookie minicamp. Head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterbacks coach Tom Arth reportedly have focused heavily on reworking his footwork, widening his base, and cleaning up his mechanics.
Franklin believes that the developmental structure could unlock the quarterback that Penn State always hoped it was getting.
“In a lot of ways, Drew is like a piece of clay,” Franklin said. “He has the ability to take coaching and translate it to the field.”
That may be the most important trait of all.
Because Pittsburgh is not drafting Allar to save the franchise immediately.
The Steelers are drafting him to develop. To sit. To learn. To rebuild bad habits before they become permanent NFL problems.
Currently, Allar is 4th on the QB depth chart in Pittsburgh behind Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, and Will Howard.
Ironically, lower expectations may end up benefiting him more than the crushing burden of expectations that came with being Penn State’s projected savior.
Pittsburgh may be Drew Allar’s Perfect Fit
The Steelers also offer something Allar rarely had in college, a proven NFL infrastructure.
Pittsburgh has invested heavily in the quarterback position with wide receivers DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr., a strong running game, and a coaching staff with extensive quarterback development experience.
The question now becomes whether the Steelers can turn flashes into something sustainable because the flashes in college weren’t illusions.
The arm talent, size, and upside are real.
But, so were the disappearing acts in big games, and thus, so was the lingering feeling that Penn State kept waiting for a version of Drew Allar that only occasionally arrived.
Now, in Pittsburgh, the reset begins.
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
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