Drew Allar can throw from any arm slot, contorting his arm to fire passes from seemingly every angle. Plus, he’s a smidge over 6-foot-5 and close to 230 pounds with nearly 10-inch hands.
That’s why, at times, he oozed NFL talent across his 35 starts at Penn State. His two-plus seasons as the Nittany Lions’ QB1 was more turbulent than that, though. Game-losing interceptions, including one in the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal two seasons ago, and a season-ending ankle injury this past October mired his tenure.
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Allar left Penn State as a former five-star recruit from Medina, Ohio, who sniffed his potential but didn’t realize it in State College. He’s landed farther West in the Keystone State, in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, are trying to develop him properly and maximize the talent that made him a third-round pick this year.
The Steelers selected Allar with the No. 76 overall pick in this year’s draft. He’s currently one of three quarterbacks on the roster, along with 2025 sixth-rounder Will Howard and veteran Mason Rudolph.
Whether a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers returns for another season in black and gold is anyone’s guess. If he does, he’ll reunite with Mike McCarthy, Rodgers’ head coach in Green Bay when he won the first two of his four NFL MVP awards and his lone Super Bowl. McCarthy, who coached the Dallas Cowboys from 2020-24 after his 13-season Packers tenure, is now at the helm of his hometown team, the Steelers.
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McCarthy replaced Mike Tomlin and is tasked with bringing postseason success back to the Steel City. Accomplishing that feat will likely hinge on the quarterback play he gets, from Rodgers or someone else.
Both Allar and Howard are candidates to step into the latter category this season. Howard got a shot as the team’s top quarterback during voluntary minicamp in April. In rookie minicamp, Allar was in the spotlight.
This past Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the 22-year-old Allar received the undivided attention of Steelers QBs coach Tom Arth and extensive teaching from McCarthy.
Pittsburgh is attempting to rewire Allar’s foundation. The Steelers have been drilling him to improve his footwork, widen his base and keep him off his toes, per ESPN.
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Allar’s footwork was particularly head-scratching at Penn State, where he posted a 61:13 touchdown-to-interception ratio over his four seasons with the Nittany Lions but struggled with his accuracy on occasion. In fact, despite clocking out with a 63.2% career completion rate, according to ESPN, he hit on just 50.3% of his pass attempts versus AP top-10 opponents. In those games, Penn State went 1-6.
“It gives you the ability to play faster,” McCarthy said, when explaining the value of precise footwork, per ESPN.
“Gives you the ability to transition in and out of the challenges that occur throughout quarterback play. We’re teaching him different than the way he’s played before. He hasn’t spent a lot of time under center. He’s a run-and-shoot guy in high school. He’s played from 9 yards deep. So there’s just a lot of newness to him, but it’s just like anything. When you see the response from Friday’s practice, talk about it Saturday morning and then for him to go out there and do it today, that’s encouraging.”
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy (right) worked with quarterback Drew Allar (left) during rookie minicamp. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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McCarthy added, according to ESPN: “Frankly, it’s really the same types of stuff that we went through with Will four weeks ago. So these are two young guys that have a lot of football in front of him, got a lot of work to do, but gosh, I mean, they’re definitely wired the right way, and they bring an excellent physical skill set.”
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For now, Allar and McCarthy are honing in on the process of things more than the results. Eventually, putting it all together during team periods will be paramount.
While Howard had the opportunity to learn from Rodgers last season, both he and Allar now have the benefit of getting hands-on instruction from McCarthy.
Regardless if Rodgers runs it back, the Steelers are hoping their young quarterbacks make strides in a offseason of transition for the franchise.
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