Early in his first start against West Virginia, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar dropped back. The Medina, Ohio, native escaped pressure, stepped up in the pocket and launched a pass to wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith more than 40 yards downfield.
The ball sailed over the outstretched arms of a defender into Lambert-Smith's waiting hands, and he waltzed into the end zone with his arms stretched wide. "Welcome to the Drew Allar era," the broadcast exclaimed. And for a moment, the future of Penn State football seemed crystal clear.
Allar was a generational recruit, rated the No. 3 overall player and No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2022. He was billed as the savior, a bonafide first round NFL Draft talent. Championships were possible, especially as the Nittany Lions welcomed in a heralded recruiting class alongside him.
Instead, Allar's tenure marked the end for Penn State coach James Franklin. Allar was drafted No. 76 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday night, where he figures to be an offseason footnote as the organization awaits word from Aaron Rodgers.
"The selection of Allar could be a foreshadowing of Aaron Rodgers' plans for the 2026 season. If the Steelers truly believed that Rodgers was coming back, they probably wouldn't have spent a third-round pick on a quarterback," said CBS Sports NFL writer Bryan DeArdo, who used to cover the Steelers.
A good chunk of Allar's story complete -- from No. 3 recruit to third-rounder -- it is time to revisit a complicated story of wrong time, wrong place, and a hyper-talented quarterback who struggled to trust his prodigious skills.
It didn't take long for Allar to show up on the radars of college scouts. After a promising junior season, Allar shot up to a top 100 prospect in his recruiting class. A few games into his senior season, five-star status was almost all but assured.
By all metrics, Allar seemed like an almost perfect quarterback recruit. At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, his size was college-ready at 16. That strength translated into a dynamic arm, sailing the ball downfield with ease. 247Sports evaluators even pointed to his mobility and off-platform throwing as a major strength, especially after playing other positions.
Penn State was quick to recognize Allar's brilliance, becoming only the third Power Four school to offer. Two months later, he committed and seemed to be a game-changing addition for Franklin's program.
The Nittany Lions were massive producers of NFL talent across the board under Franklin, but quarterback was always a hole. While Sean Clifford and Trace McSorley provided playmaking, they paled in comparison to the playmakers coming out of Ohio State every year. Finally, Allar seemed to close that gap. Unwittingly, he also brought scrutiny.
Fans clamored for Allar to get on the field as a true freshman, but Clifford's graduation was always seen as his moment. The West Virginia season opener seemed to provide proof of concept as Allar exploded for 325 yards and three touchdowns. Stunningly, it ended up being the peak of his season.
Allar failed to clear 300 yards again, failing to even hit 200 yards in six games. Heading into October 2023, the Nittany Lions ranked last in the Big Ten in passing plays of more than 10 yards despite having their biggest-armed quarterback in years. A reporter famously asked James Franklin about whether Penn State would benefit from trying to dial up and force more downfield throws.
"You're speaking Japanese, like, we have never done that," Franklin said. "Just throw the ball up and maybe he'll be open and maybe he'll catch, like, my skin is like, like you're making me uncomfortable."
That said, Allar was notably handcuffed. Allar threw passes more than 20 yards downfield on only 9.2% of his attempts, the second-worst mark in the country, despite rating reasonably well on said throws. His average depth of target and Big Time Throw rates, per Pro Football Focus, were utterly forgettable.
Penn State posted a 10-win season, but Allar went a combined 24-of-55 against Ohio State and Michigan.
Heading into the 2024 season, Franklin seemed dead-set on finding a coordinator who could help develop Allar. Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki ultimately took the call after helping the Jayhawks to a historic nine-win season.
Kotelnicki came to prominence for his work with Tyree Jackson at Buffalo and Jalon Daniels with Kansas. Right away, Kotelnicki helped Allar get substantially more efficient. His completion percentage exploded from 59.9% to 66.5%, his yards per attempt jumped from 6.8 to 8.4 and he cleared 3,300 yards passing for the first time in his career. Mechanically, Allar jumped to No. 6 nationally with a 48.9% completion percentage on deep passes and a very respectable 90.5 passing grade.
But while Allar made substantial progress under Kotelnicki in his first season, some of the inconsistency remained. Kotelnicki's system uses plenty of horizontal motion and benefits from dual-threat quarterback play; it didn't necessarily maximize Allar's big arm. Kotelnicki's system also benefits from a dual-threat quarterback, and there were moments where the Nittany Lions looked more cohesive under backup Beau Pribula. Regardless, Penn State made the national semifinals, one of the best seasons of the 21st Century.
The flashes were enough that many draft evaluators saw Allar as a potential Day 1 or 2 pick. Instead of rushing to the draft, Allar decided to return for an all-important final season, where he hoped to finally lead Penn State over the top.
Penn State invested serious capital in the program heading into 2025, setting up a do-or-die season for the electric 2025 recruiting class. In addition to bringing back star running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, the Nittany Lions added USC receiver Kyron Hutson and Syracuse star Trebor Pena via the transfer portal.