Penn State's Offense Didn't Do Right by Drew Allar, Terry Smith Says

Smith tells a Pittsburgh radio station that Allar will be a better quarterback in the NFL than he was in college.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar throws a pass against the Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Terry Smith, Penn State's associate head football coach and a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan, endorsed quarterback Drew Allar's NFL future with the Steelers while being critical of how Penn State deployed the quarterback in its offense.

"I think he’s going to be a better pro than he was a college player," Smith said in an interview with Pittsburgh radio station 93.7 The Fan.

The Steelers selected Allar in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, prompting radio show hosts Joe Starkey and Bob Pompeani to check in with Smith, Penn State's interim head coach for seven games last season. During the wide-ranging, candid interview on The Pomp and Joe Show, Smith described a quarterback and an offense that didn't seem to fit.

Smith said that Penn State's offensive system didn't use Allar properly to capitalize on his strengths as a 6-5, pro-style quarterback who "can make every throw." Smith also detailed how Allar helped him navigate his first weeks as Penn State's interim head coach despite being out for the season with a broken ankle.

"I’ve been known as the truth-teller here at Penn State," Smith said in the interview. "I think, unfairly to Drew, our system wasn’t built for him. It wasn’t made for him. Some of the decisions were taken out of his control.

"Hes a guy that can make every throw. He’s super smart, he’s a fast learner, he picks things up really quickly. I just think, with the right coaching, the right direction, obviously in the best scenario you want a guy like Aaron Rodgers to come back and really teach a guy like this how to be a pro and be a pro’s pro, much like Aaron Rodgers learned from Brett Favre. So that’s an ideal situation. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen. But I think Drew has all the physical attributes and mental makeup to really be a good pro."

“I think unfairly to Drew, our system wasn’t built for him” Penn State Coach Terry Smith on Allar. @kdpomp @joestarkey1 @austinrbechtold pic.twitter.com/oAqtnQ8gP5

— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) April 27, 2026

Smith said that Penn State's offense, under former head coach James Franklin and coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, "asked Drew to run the ball a little more" than it should have. While Allar lost weight before the 2025 season to become a more effective runner, Smith said that isn't the strength of this game.

"He’s a pro-style quarterback," Smith said in the interview. "He’s not built for running, but he can run when necessary. And so when you have designated, called runs, that’s not him. He’s not Michael Vick or one of these athletic quarterbacks in that sense, but he can extend the play and move out of the pocket when necessary. I just think when you align him in the pocket and you give him some downfield reads, I think he can read the progression from one to three and can scan the field. I think he’s going to be a better pro than he was a college player."

Interestingly, Smith said that he felt Penn State removed some of those reins it had applied to Allar during the second half of its double-overtime loss to Oregon last September. Allar led two touchdown drives running a 2-minute style of offense to tie the game before throwing an interception in double overtime that ended it.

"That right there shows what he’s capable of," Smith said. " When they unleashed him, he delivered when we needed him most to get that game to go into overtime and give us a chance on that night."

Asked why Penn State did not try that earlier, Smith said, "That's a question I can’t answer. I wasn’t the head coach at that point."

I did a film breakdown on how Penn State’s offensive scheme didn’t fit Drew Allar. I show how Allar had his most success in a 2 minute offense when he was in the Spread and got to sling it around

“Drew Allar in Kotelnicki’s Offense is like trying to fit a square peg in a round… https://t.co/OZEhxR1eQ5 pic.twitter.com/e1J7HgXGrd

— LandonTengwall (@LandonTengwall) April 27, 2026

Smith also praised Allar for his commitment to the program after sustaining a season-ending injury against Northwestern in October. Franklin was fired the next day, and Allar underwent surgery during the team's bye week that followed.

Upon returning to Penn State, Allar attended every practice and team meeting, Smith said. The quarterback also asked Smith to travel to Iowa for Penn State's next game. He did that with a group of players wearing "IF" t-shirts inspired by their interim head coach.

"He didn’t have to," Smith said. "He knew he was going in the draft, he wouldn’t return for this season, he had choices and options, and he chose to stay with the team. He chose to be a leader on the team. He chose to help me and partner with me to get us back on track, and I owe a lot of the organization and the leadership to him because he was voice in the locker room that helped us recapture the locker room toward the end of the season."

Watch the entire interview at 93.7 The Fan's YouTube channel.

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith walks on the field before the game vs. the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

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