Drew Allar is looking to put an exclamation point on his spring work. The next time he’s with all his teammates, it’ll be training camp and the Pittsburgh Steelers will be full speed ahead toward the regular season. Mike McCarthy is using the final voluntary OTA week to focus on the young players, and many of the veterans, including Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph, are not in attendance.
That gives Allar ample chance to improve.
“It’s definitely a big week,” Allar told reporters Tuesday via 93.7 The Fan. “I try to take as many mental reps as I can throughout the practice. It’s definitely different when you’re the one taking those reps and logging those in your memory bank. Different route concepts versus different coverages.”
Allar’s seemingly getting his largest share of reps since rookie minicamp when he was the lone passer in practice. Once the veterans joined, Allar’s reps were greatly reduced as the team balanced having four viable quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Individual work and mental reps are key for him, a young player rebuilding his mechanics to maximize the physical talent that got him drafted in the third round.
Still, nothing replaces taking the snaps himself. Each rep tells him a little more about himself and the NFL, and he’s using every snap as a lesson.
“Just trying to take it a play at a time,” he said. “Just grow from each play. Whether it’s a good throw or bad throw, just learn from it.”
Drew Allar and Pittsburgh’s rookies will hold informal learning sessions next week before departing for the summer. Presumably, he’ll spend that time working with his private quarterbacks coach Brad Maendler, who has coached him since early this decade.
Once the entire roster reports to Saint Vincent College in late July, the Steelers will have to decide how many reps to give Allar. There’s clearly no plan to have him compete for the No. 2 spot, but he’ll need practice reps to be ready for the heavy preseason action he’ll possibly see. Right now, his focus is on maximizing this week and taking advantage of reps that weren’t there before.
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