Growing up in Medina, Ohio, Drew Allar had a deep love for the game of football. A love that turned into a dream of playing in the NFL. Now, after a story book career at Penn State, Allar has the chance to do just that.
With the NFL draft just hours away from his hometown, Allar is one of the most intriguing prospects of the entire class.
Allar didn’t play quarterback until his freshman year of high school, and was largely under recruited until later in his high school career.
During an interview with Chris Simms and Mike Florio of NBC’s Pro Football talk, Allar noted that he was interested in throwing in general because of his baseball background. Then when the opportunity to play quarterback in high school arose, Allar said “I might as well go try it.”
Then, in high school he had the chance to show that talent and hard work off and became a coveted five-star QB and climbed to the No.3 recruit in the nation and the No.1 quarterback in the 2022 class.
Not only was he another five-star quarterback, but he was Penn State's first five-star signal caller since Christian Hackenberg in 2013.
Unlike Hackenberg, Allar was a backup for the majority of his freshman season behind Sean Clifford. But, Allar received valuable reps in year one, completing 58.3% of his passes for 344 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. In fact, he even saw some time in Penn State’s 35-21 Rose Bowl victory over Utah.
Through the next three seasons, Allar threw for 7,058 yards, 57 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
Allar’s junior season was the best of his career. A season that saw him take home All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honor along with being a Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist and finishing in the top ten for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
His junior season was one of the most successful seasons for the team in recent memory. The Nittany Lions made it all the way to the College Football Playoff semifinal where they fell in a thriller to Notre Dame by a score of 27-24 with Allar throwing the game-sealing interception, a pass that hangs over Allar’s lore.
Despite the heartbreaking end to the 2024-25 season, expectations were high going into the 2025-26 season. But, the Nittany Lions would end up severely underperforming. And for Allar, his career would end in heartbreak.
In Penn State’s week six matchup against Northwestern, Allar suffered a broken ankle which ended his season and Penn State career.
But, despite not being able to finish his college career playing, the injury revealed something for Allar.
“It showed me how much I really loved football,” Allar said.
He stated that he “always knew” that he was passionate about the game, but the injury opened his eyes to his deep love of the game.
This time out helped Allar in other ways than just gaining a new perspective. Allar was also able to hone in on his leadership skill and still being able to contribute to the team despite not throwing any passes.
“I just found ways to help the team. Whether that was reading to the guys that weren’t in, helping Grunk (Ethan Grunkemeyer) and the whole quarterback room get ready for that week’s game. So, I just tried to be as much of a leader as I could.”
While contributing to the team off the field, Allar was undergoing a rigorous rehab process in order to prepare for the next step of his football journey. Through his rehab process Allar stated that he “learned a lot” about himself and he had different goals set for himself throughout the journey.
Following the grind through rehab, Allar was able to accomplish two of his major goals; working out at the NFL combine and Pro Day.
Throwing at the combine was a different vibe for Allar. Empty seats with no bands and screaming fans. Just him, other prospects, scouts and a football in his hand. And he did not disappoint. Allar routinely connected on first, second and third level throws. This performance rightly earned himself more attention from scouts. Coupled with 6’5” and 228-pound frame, which scouts consider to be “elite,” Allar is seen by many as the prototypical pocket passer who also has some mobility.
Scouts have noted Allar throws have power and speed which gives him the ability to make every pro throw. On top of that, Allar has a great pocket presence that allows him to detect pressure off the edge and just accordingly.
And Allar has been thinking ahead to throwing an NFL football. When asked about his feelings on throwing an NFL football by Chris Simms, Allar gave credit to Penn State equipment staff, “we have a really good relationship and I changed the model [of the football] to kind of model an NFL football with the laces and the leather that we were using.”
Currently, Allar is projected as a day two selection, who will, in all likelihood, be selected in the second round. A team that Allar has been heavily linked to is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For now, where Allar truly goes is a mystery until the draft starts. The 2026 NFL in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania kicks off on Thursday, April 23rd at 8:00. It will be broadcast on ESPN, the NFL Network, ABC and various other networks.