CFB Coach Calls Out Penn State for Drew Allar's Lack of Success After Steelers Get QB in NFL Draft

Pittsburgh Steelers third-round pick Drew Allar faced criticisms for the disappointing end to his college career at Penn State, but it sounds like he wasn't totally to blame.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg spoke to multiple Big Ten coaches who had "lukewarm" evaluations on Allar but also admitted that he "went through multiple systems and wasn't always set up to succeed" throughout his tenure with the Nittany Lions.

"Hopefully [Pittsburgh] will be a coaching staff that can maximize what he's good at," one Big Ten coach said. "I'm not really sure that was the case [at Penn State]."

Allar helped lead Penn State to the College Football Playoff semifinals in the 2024 season and likely would've been among the top quarterback prospects in the 2025 draft class. Instead, he stayed in school for another year, and he had a lackluster start to the 2025 campaign before suffering a season-ending broken ankle in October.

The Steelers opted to look past Allar's down year in 2025 when they selected him with the No. 76 pick. B/R's Brent Sobleski graded the selection a B.

Pittsburgh still hasn't received a decision from veteran signal-caller Aaron Rodgers about his potential return for the 2026 season, so the team could give Allar the chance to develop into its future franchise quarterback.

It can be expected that Allar will be motivated to silence his doubters and prove that the Steelers were right to take a chance on him in this year's draft.