Penn State is 3-0, and heading into a huge home showdown against the No. 4 Oregon Ducks. Heading into this season, the Nittany Lions had high expectations, thanks to the return of their star quarterback Drew Allar.
Allar threw for over 3,000 yards passing with 24 touchdowns last year while helping lead the Nittany Lions to the CFP Semifinals. The quarterback is a senior in 2025, who was eligible to enter the NFL Draft after last season.
Despite speculation that he would declare for the NFL draft, Allar returned to Penn State for the 2025 season. Let's take a look back at the speculation surrounding Allar and the draft last offseason.
Why didn’t Drew Allar go to NFL?
There was a lot of interesting buzz surrounding Allar's draft intentions late in the 2024 college football season. Firstly, Allar initially informed his coaches that he would be returning to Penn State in Dec. of 2024, prior to the Nittany Lion's playoff run.
But Allar's NFL draft stock rose during Penn State's CFP games. The quarterback played quite well in all three of those games, which included wins over SMU, Boise State and a loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl semifinal on a last-second field goal.
In those three games, Allar combined for 433 yards passing, and threw for three touchdowns against the Broncos. His lone interception in the game against Notre Dame helped set up the Irish's field goal, but overall he played quite well. On the season, he finished with 3.327 passing yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He rushed for 3-2 yards with six touchdowns, as well.
He played so well in fact that the speculation grew surrounding Allar's NFL future. NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler reported that there were several NFL GMs who believed Allar could come out after a strong playoff performance:
I know Drew Allar "intends" to return to Penn St. in 2025.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 1, 2025
But...
There are several NFL GMs who believe Allar could enter the 2025 NFL Draft with a strong playoff run. Teams are still heavily scouting him for the 2025 class.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. also added to the speculation in early January.
“I would say the Giants would be the Shedeur spot and I think Cleveland could take Travis Hunter (and) go in a different direction,” Kiper said on ESPN Radio. “I really think, we talked about Drew Allar, what’s his decision going to be after the next game or two?”
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Drew Allar NFL Draft projection
Allar was projected to go quite high for 2025, at least when it was expected he could declare. Kiper had Allar ranked No. 4 overall for 2025 in mid-December, and ESPN's Jordan Reid ranked him No. 3 overall.
The Athletic's Nick Baumgarner added that it was "very possible" he'd be a first-round pick, likely to not be available in the second round.
2025 NFL Draft with Drew Allar
2025 was considered a down year at the quarterback position. And when looking at how the draft shook out, there's a real possibility that Allar could have been taken in the first round. With Shedeur Sanders falling, there were just two signal-callers taken on the first night, in Cam Ward to the Titans and Jaxson Dart to the Giants.
But by mid-January, it was all speculation. Allar confirmed his return to Penn State for 2025, as previously announced:
After reviewing his NFL options, Drew Allar is officially returning to Penn State for his senior season, a source confirmed.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 13, 2025
Allar previously announced his intention to return, but was keeping an open mind based on favorable NFL feedback.
Allar said in an interview with Fox Sports in July that his decision to return to Happy Valley stemmed from various inconsistencies surrounding his actual draft stock. He added that he and his team have goals they both want to accomplish, as well:
Others thought his inconsistencies rendered him more likely to be chosen in the middle rounds. There was too much variance for Allar’s liking, so he informed Franklin and the coaches of his intention to return the following year, a choice he now says was 90% firm entering the College Football Playoff.
"It was kind of like too scattered, I guess, to pull that trigger," Allar said. "I have a lot of things I want to accomplish here as a team and individually that I wanted one more go at."
If Allar wants to bring a championship to Penn State, this might be one of the best chances to do so. In addition to Allar's return, the Nittany Lions also brought back two of his star running backs in Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton.
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Drew Allar NIL money vs. NFL salary
On3's NIL valuation of Allar is $3.5 million, and the quarterback has endorsement deals with the likes of Nike and American Eagle. That's a lot less money than this year's first-round draft picks are currently making in the NFL. Here's a look at Dart and Ward's respective contracts, via Sporttrac:
- Cam Ward, Titans: Four-year, $48.8 million
- Jaxson Dart: Four-year, $16.97 million contract
Money aside, if Allar has another big season as expected, he'll further cement his spot as a first-round draft pick. Through three games for PSU, he has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 626 yards with four touchowns and an interception.