Penn State fans wondered for months where QB Drew Allar would go in the NFL Draft.
They got their answer Friday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Allar in the third round.
Allar going to the Steelers means that he’ll be playing for the team he grew up rooting against, staying in Pennsylvania and working with Mike McCarthy.
The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy in part because of his body of work when it comes to developing quarterbacks.
By taking Allar, the first-year Steelers head coach has another signal-caller to mold to his liking. The now-former Penn State passer is eager for the opportunity to soak up McCarthy’s wisdom.
“I’m really excited to learn under Coach McCarthy,” Allar said on a conference call shortly after hearing his name called. “Obviously, he has a tremendous pedigree in the NFL with everything he’s been able to accomplish in his career, not only as a head coach, but as an offensive coordinator and position spots he’s helped throughout his career.
“He’s been around a lot of great players, and I’m really looking forward to building our relationship and learning as much football as I can from him.”
McCarthy has helped Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott and — to a lesser degree — an aging Joe Montana to success. McCarthy runs an attack that centers around the passer.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Allar’s advancement will be about “just cleaning up some of the fundamentals and footwork — and being more consistent in those areas,” Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth said. “Which is one of the first things that Drew told me when we had him here on the visit, which was really refreshing to hear, his self-awareness, his humility to recognize it.”
Allar reiterated that he believes heightened consistency will be underlined in his development.
“For me, it always starts with getting more consistent,” Allar said. “I feel like the more consistent I can be, the better player I will be, so it’s just gonna always start with that. I’m really looking forward to getting to work with Coach Arth and Coach McCarthy and, really, the whole staff to really come up with a detailed plan on how I can get better and what I should be doing, working on by myself and spending time extra in the facility … to put myself in the position where I can become the best player that I possibly can be.”
Arth recruited Allar when he was the head coach at Akron, but as he climbed to five-star prospect status, the offer from the Zips lost its luster.
“Now I have the chance to have him here in Pittsburgh,” Arth said. “I think he’s outstanding. He has rare size, he’s 6-foot-5, 235 pounds. He has big hands. And I think what’s most exciting, certainly, when you talk about the quarterback position, it’s, ‘Can this guy throw a football?’ And I think he throws it as well as any quarterback in this draft. He has an effortless arm.”
This story originally appeared on Steelers Now.
