Penn State QB Drew Allar’s senior season was supposed to boost his NFL stock, but his ankle injury abruptly ended his collegiate career. That also jeopardized his future in the pros. However, one PSU alum wants the scouts to review a particular game before they reach any conclusion about the Nittany Lions quarterback. 

“Dear NFL GMs, I advise you to go watch Drew Allar’s first career start vs. West Virginia in 2023,” former PSU OL Landon Tengwall wrote on X. “It was far and away the best game of his career (statistically and film-wise).

And then you have to ask yourself, how can someone have the best game of their CFB career in their first-ever start? Allar obviously has to shoulder some of the blame, but he was never put in a great situation from a coaching standpoint. Get him a great offensive mind, and I think he can develop into a legit NFL QB.”

In that game against the Mountaineers, Allar replaced Sean Clifford and led the Lions to a comfortable 38-15 win. While doing so, he threw for 325 yards on a 72.4% completion rate, including three touchdowns. But beyond the numbers, it was how he took to the starting role that proved to everyone why he was ranked as a five-star QB out of high school.

Just on his second passing attempt of the game, Allar threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. West Virginia tried hard to ruffle him up by throwing Cover 0 blitzes, but the young QB wasn’t rattled. He finished the game without a turnover.

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That season, Allar led the Nittany Lions to a 10-3 record, finishing with 2,631 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. The following season in 2024, he advanced his game by posting 3,327 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, and he could have played for the national championship if not for a few plays against Notre Dame in the semifinal. 

He entered the 2025 season trying to boost his NFL stock, but after six games, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury. He only had 1,100 yards for eight touchdowns and three interceptions, without a win over conference opponents.

Knowing that his game had dropped drastically in the senior season, Tengwall offered an explanation. 

“By the end of his CFB career, it felt like he was playing scared/nervous,” Tengwall continued. Which is not how he played at the beginning of his career. It almost feels like he was coached out of being a ballplayer. Things like “if you aren’t perfect on a deep ball, make sure to leave it short” iykyk… I’ll post some clips from WVU 2023 later today.”

While Tengwall was making the plea for Allar’s NFL draft, a major opportunity knocked on the quarterback’s door to showcase his skill in front of the NFL scouts.

Drew Allar invited to the NFL Combine

Drew Allar and eight other NFL prospects representing Penn State received an invite to the NFL Combine, to be held from February 23 to March 2 in Indianapolis. For now, he is being projected as a mid-round (3rd to 5th) selection. One thing that may work in his favor is that it will be a weak QB class. That means he may get picked by a good team looking for a backup for its starting QB. 

“I think my best football is ahead of me,” Allar said in November. “Honestly, this injury might be a blessing for me, just to be able to kind of sit back and reflect on different things and just learn different things, whether that be offensive schemes or defensive schemes.”

However, it is unclear how much Allar will be able to perform in his private workouts after the injury. He also has to clear doubts around his processing speed and composure. Many scouts have doubts about his ability to read and his pocket presence under pressure. But there’s also the upside of a prototypical QB size, arm talent, and ball security.