Aller’s selection closes the book on a college career that once featured first-round draft picks, but ended in heartbreak. After a stellar 2024 that included a deep run in college football, Penn State had every reason to believe that 2025 would be the year where Allar was the face of sky-high optimism. Everything came crashing down, however, when Allar broke his ankle in a narrow loss to Northwestern midway through the season, sending the program into a spiral that culminated in the firing of coach James Franklin.
Allar, a five-star recruit from Medina, Ohio, grew up with Browns fans and wrote his latest football chapter by leaving the Buckeye State for Happy Valley, where he sat behind Sean Clifford in 2022 before beating out Beau Pribula for the starting job in 2023. 3rd honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree. His peak came in 2024, a season in which Allar threw for 3,327 yards, a 24-8 TD-INT ratio and added 302 rushing yards and six rushing scores on 96 attempts, leading a talented Penn State team to the College Football Playoff.
At 6-foot-6, Allar looks like a big quarterback with a bright future in the professional game. However, the product has not passed. In his two full seasons, the Penn State standout put up strong numbers, throwing for 5,958 yards and 49 touchdowns, and developed a reputation for avoiding blunders, becoming the third player in FBS history to throw 1,000-plus career passes and fewer than 15 interceptions.
Consistency — especially in key moments — has been lacking, however, contributing to a draft profile that included Day 3 projection.
Instead, he was taken off the board on Day 2 as the fourth overall QB pick behind Fernando Mendoza (No. 1 overall; Raiders), Ty Simpson (No. 13; Rams) and Carson Beck (No. 65; Cardinals).
Allar’s addition made a lot of noise Friday as he entered the biggest question mark in the QB room remaining this offseason. It’s likely to be a while down the road before Pittsburgh fans can decide just how important Penn State’s quarterback is.