Author: Ely Allen

The 2026 NFL Draft is still far off into the future, but an injury yesterday may have made a big impact on how things will turn out next April. Often viewed as a potential first-round pick, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar may not be able to reach the heights many expected for him after suffering what looked to be a season-ending ankle injury in a loss to Northwestern on Saturday, per ESPN’s Field Yates.

Despite being the backup to Sean Clifford in his first year with the Nittany Lions, Allar saw plenty of garbage time snaps as a true freshman. Former head coach James Franklin‘s statement that the injury will end Allar’s season comes six games into his senior year. An injury redshirt is only available to a player who has appeared in four or fewer games, and because the team decided to burn his redshirt with 10 garbage time appearance in his freshman year, the injury will also end Allar’s collegiate career as his runs out of eligibility.

Allar came out of Medina HS (OH) as a consensus five-star quarterback. 247Sports listed him as the top passer of the Class of 2022, but other recruiting sites lauded recruits like Cade Klubnik, Conner Weigman, and Ty Simpson over Allar. Allar committed to Penn State in March of his junior year and never wavered on his commitment. Ohio State, a program a short two-hour drive away, offered to keep him in his home state just before his senior year, but Allar stuck with the Nittany Lions and went to a school twice as far from home.

Following what could’ve been a redshirt season, Allar took over as the starting quarterback for his sophomore campaign. Allar was lauded for his poise as a young starter. In his first full season, he delivered an impressive 25 passing touchdowns to only two interceptions. While the mistake-free football is a trait to be desired, his offense often lacked efficiency and explosiveness. A completion percentage of 59.9 and a yards per attempt of only 6.8 help underline why Allar barely managed to eclipse 200 yards per game.

He was able to improve on both numbers as a junior, completing 66.5 percent of his passes at 8.4 yards per attempt, but his increase in risk-taking led to a less desirable touchdown to interception ratio of 24:8. In six games this year, Allar seemed to regress in those key metrics. Though he was still completing 64.8 percent of his passes this year, he was only on track for 16 touchdowns through a 12-game season and had already thrown three interceptions. With his yards per attempt dropping back down to 6.9, Allar only averaged 183.3 yards per game as a senior.

Another criticism on Allar was his effectiveness in big games. His three losses as a sophomore were all against teams ranked 11th or higher. In those games, he completed only 45.2 percent of his passes for 185.3 yards per game. As a junior, Penn State lost to the only top 10 team they faced, lost the Big Ten Championship game, and after two playoff victories, lost to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff’s semifinal round. Even the two playoff wins didn’t help Allar’s case as, over those five games against strong competition, he completed only 54.3 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and four interceptions while averaging 161 yards per game.

Allar only got a shot at one big game this year, losing to a sixth-ranked Oregon team. Despite the game going to two overtimes, Allar only amassed 137 yards while completing 56 percent of his passes for two touchdowns and an interception. Instead of using this final season to make a statement for deserving to be selected early in the draft, Allar’s shortened senior year displayed more of the same with two losses to unranked UCLA and Northwestern teams adding insult to injury.

The draw for Allar comes in potential. At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, the 21-year-old has prototypical size for the position. Though it wasn’t on display a ton, he has a strong arm and a pretty good deep ball that saw success when utilized at Penn State. His knack for avoiding turnovers is a huge draw, and he can move pretty well for his size.

His inability to put up big numbers could be attributed to a lot of outside factors — the talent of Penn State’s running backs and offensive line during his tenure shifting focus to the run game, playcalling, an underwhelming group of receivers. Regardless, we’ve seen plenty of scouts in the past fall in love with athletes who lacked production but oozed potential. Those scouts will also have to look past this most recent injury, but that will be easier to do when more information has come out.

Penn State has produced a decent number of quarterbacks over the past 10 years, but Christian Hackenberg, Trace McSorley, and Clifford have done little to set a good precedent for the school in the NFL. Allar’s focus will now shift towards being the one to buck that trend as he attempts to find success in the NFL. Over the next several months, we should get a clearer idea of how scouts are viewing Allar as a prospect following these developments.