There are so many moving parts when it comes to Steelers rookie QB Drew Allar. Some of them are literal, with HC Mike McCarthy stripping down his mechanics and rebuilding them from the feet up.
It is shopping-for-Christmas-in-July too early to even hazard a guess at how this plays out – a supposed quarterback whisperer paired with a quarterback who looks straight out of central casting but never played up to his five-star billing at Penn State.
McCarthy’s track record and Allar’s wondrous physical abilities could lead to the Steelers ultimately striking third-round gold. So might something else, said a highly successful coach who knows Allar well from their time together at Penn State.
“I’m telling you, from a character standpoint, no one better,” Bob Palko told Steelers Depot Monday. “He is an awesome kid. He’s a sponge. He wants to learn.”
Palko is one of the greatest football high school coaches in Western Pennsylvania’s fabled history. He won nine regional titles and two state titles at two different schools before joining Penn State’s football program three years ago as its high school relations director. He left that job after a head coaching change and has since returned to the school where he won many of his championships.
To say Palko became close to Allar while the two were at Penn State is an understatement.
Allar’s dad texted him Sunday to wish him a happy Father’s Day and say he plans to attend a game during Palko’s first season back at West Allegheny High School. It won’t surprise Palko if Drew Allar also attends one.
One reason why Palko said Allar’s character is “through the roof” is because of how he responded after the unceremonious end to his Penn State career. The Nittany Lions lost three straight games in the first half of the season, two in shocking fashion. In the fourth quarter of Penn State’s loss to heavy underdog Northwestern, which led to HC James Franklin’s in-season firing, Allar went down with a serious ankle injury.
Cheers could be heard throughout Beaver Stadium. Palko said that devastated Allar as much as knowing his college career was over.
“I’ll never forget that look in his eyes and look on his face,” said Palko, who talked to Allar on the sidelines after his injury. “It was brutal.”
Allar could have receded into the background, especially after starting rehab following surgery. Instead of having one foot out the door as he eyed the 2026 NFL Draft, Allar attended practices and meetings, helping his teammates however he could.
“He didn’t miss anything,” Palko said. “He’s almost too good to be true.”
Palko will be the first to admit that impeccable character only goes so far in the NFL. Yes, it is part of the equation, but it won’t help Allar make the right decisions and throw accurate passes when things are moving at warp speed.
But he also cautions not to bet against everything clicking for Allar, a prototypical drop-back passer miscast in Penn State’s RPO offense, under McCarthy’s tutelage.
“Is what the Steelers do offensively going to be different than what he’s ever experienced? Yeah. So how will he be? We’ll see,” said Palko, the 2021 national Gatorade Coach of the Year. “He’s got a hose. There’s not a throw he can’t make.”
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