The 2026 NFL Combine came and went with little chatter surrounding ex-Penn State quarterback Drew Allar. The former five-star recruit turned in a solid performance in throwing drills, but barely moved the needle as other quarterbacks dominated the headlines.
The lack of buzz served as yet another punctuation mark on one of the biggest NFL Draft freefalls in recent memory. Allar was mocked as high as No. 2 last offseason — now he sits at No. 167 overall and No. 6 quarterback in a notably weak class of passers.
So, what went wrong for Drew Allar during his four-year tenure in Happy Valley?
A run that began with championship aspirations and ultimately coincided with the firing of decorated head coach James Franklin. Team insiders and national experts shared the inside scoop on where things unraveled.
Allar arrived at Penn State as the No. 3 overall recruit and the top-ranked quarterback in the 2023 class, equipped with the "prototypical build" of a modern NFL quarterback — ideal size at 6-foot-5 with plenty of arm strength to match.
After sitting his freshman year behind Sean Clifford, Allar took over as the starter in 2023 and posted strong numbers on paper: completing 59.9% of his passes for 2,631 yards and 25 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
However, Allar completed just 11 of his 36 passes of 20-plus yards (30.6%) in 2023, an inability to hit big plays downfield that would plague him throughout his career.
Over his three seasons as a starter, he connected on only 38 of 94 attempts of 20-plus yards (40.4%). For context, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava led all of college football this season with 39 completions of 20-plus yards in just 13 games.
"Allar hasn't fallen because of a lack of talent so much as a lack of consistency," said CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson.