After sliding to the third round due to inconsistent footwork, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar enters Mike McCarthy’s fundamental bootcamp to overhaul his mechanics and solidify his NFL future.
Before his final season at Penn State, quarterback Drew Allar had the potential to become a first-round pick with another solid season.
However, Allar was inconsistent in the six games he played before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. With questions at the quarterback position amid uncertainty with Aaron Rodgers, the Pittsburgh Steelers opted to take a chance on Allar in the third round of April's draft.
One of the issues numerous scouts had with Allar's play in college was his footwork. The young quarterback admitted that was an issue the Steelers coaching was immediately working on during rookie minicamp.
"For me right now it's a lot with my lower half, cleaning up footwork, getting used to the terminology that they're talking about and that's incorporated with this offense," said Allar, via the Steelers. “It’s a little bit different than what I've been used to.
"I've just got to take it one day at a time and find ways to be more consistent at it and improve on it each day. I might have started at one spot, but if I can find a way to get better each day I'll accelerate my growth and that's the main goal, to learn as much as I can from the quarterbacks in the room and obviously the coaches."
New Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy has a great history of working with young quarterbacks, including Rodgers during their time together with the Green Bay Packers.
Allar has enjoyed learning from McCarthy since the draft.
"Anytime you can talk to Coach McCarthy one-on-one, especially when it's about quarterback play and fundamentals," said Allar. "I feel like I've grown a lot and really just understand his philosophy a lot more the last two days. I know what I need to work on and how to work it.
"I've just got to be intentional with doing the same routine every day and making sure I'm staying on top of the little things. It's a lot of room for me to grow. A lot of football to learn. A lot of basics and nuances of the game."
The next step for Allar will be voluntary minicamp. He'll need to have a firm grasp of the offense if he wants to surge up the depth chart this summer.