The Pittsburgh Steelers are beginning to see their offseason settle down a bit, after a hectic start to it back in January following their playoff loss to the Houston Texans. With the 2026 NFL Draft now in the rearview mirror, first-year players are going through rookie minicamp under new head coach Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff at team facilities. With the 76th overall pick the third round, the organization took another swing to potentially try and find its next quarterback, drafting Drew Allar from Penn State. Following Day 2 of Steelers' rookie minicamp, Allar spoke about what his focus is on for improved play.
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Steelers' Drew Allar walks off the field after a game at Penn State during his time in college.
The selection of Allar came with some controversy, as the knock on him was that he struggled to come up clutch in the big games during his time in Happy Valley. While scouts gloat about Allar having all the physical traits to be successful at the NFL level, he underwhelmed in college against top-ranked teams. Drafting Allar definitely gave the franchise a project to work on, but it appears Allar has faith in his coaching staff.
"It's more about tweaking things and it's just different coaching philosophies in all honesty," Allar said. "You know every coach probably teaches footwork a little bit different. With coach [Mike] McCarthy he has his beliefs, obviously they've shown that they work with everybody he's been around. Really it's just about me buying into that and trying to get as consistent as possible in that. All the quarterbacks he's worked with all had a tremendous amount of success. That's something I do want to achieve, but I've got to start from the ground up."
The one thing that sticks out about Allar's final season at Penn State is that head coach James Franklin was fired mid-season, following a disappointing 3-3 start to the year. Terry Smith took over as the interim head coach, guiding them to a 7-6 record and a bowl win. Smith was retained on the new coaching staff, and he spoke about how the system in college did not set Allar up for success during his time there.
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Steelers newly drafted quarterback Drew Allar looks on during his time at Penn State after a crucial interception.
McCarthy has received the nickname of "Quarterback Whisperer", especially given his background working with guys like Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, and Joe Montana during his lengthy coaching career.
While Allar has a lot of work to do if he wants to translate his physical tools to NFL success, a fresh coaching staff led by McCarthy is a great scenario for him to try and do so. While he struggled in big games at Penn State, Franklin's firing as well as Smith's comments about their system speaks volumes to how he could have been held back with his development in college.
Steelers Have Chance To Find Long-Term Quarterback Answer
While there has been a lot of speculation about Rodgers' return coming soon and him signing back in Pittsburgh to reunite with McCarthy in the NFL, the franchise has some options for their long-term answer as the quarterback position. Will Howard has also been given high praise by McCarthy and even if Rodgers returns, him and Allar would have a year to learn under the four-time NFL MVP.
That could then open up a quarterback battle ahead of the 2027 season between Allar and Howard, assuming the Black and Gold do not take another swing on a quarterback in next year's draft. The one big difference between Allar and Howard is that Howard won big games at the college level. In fact, Howard won the National Championship in his final year at Ohio State University.
With that said, Allar's comments show he has a clear focus on what he will need to work on if he wants to change the narrative on him and find success at the NFL level.
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Steelers Quarterback Will Howard during a game in college as the Quarterback at Ohio State University
The project that comes along with drafting Allar certainly comes with a risk, albeit he was a third-round pick instead of a first. A new coaching staff, led by McCarthy who has had his successes in the NFL at developing quarterbacks, is the best thing that could have happened for Allar and his career long-term. If it ends up working out, it also would be welcomed by Pittsburgh as they look to find their first true franchise quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger.
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