Drew Allar Felt Effects of Huge Workload at Steelers Rookie Minicamp

The Pittsburgh Steelers made sure to push Drew Allar during rookie minicamp.

Oct 11, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) stands on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

As the only quarterback present at Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp, Drew Allar was put to work by the team's coaching staff.

The third-round pick out of Penn State took all 35 reps during the team portion of practice on May 9, and according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo, Allar was noticeably tired afterwards.

"It was everyone's first look at Allar. Here's what I noticed: he was absolutely gassed taking all the reps in the Saturday morning practice we got to view," Fittipaldo wrote in his weekly Steelers chat. "He talked about it afterward and so did Mike McCarthy, who said it was by design."

Dec 31, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) against the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

McCarthy's Praise for Allar

McCarthy admitted that the team made it a point to push Allar during rookie minicamp and see how he responded to that test.

"We did, and we pushed him," McCarthy said. "To go 35 snaps in a team drill, that's pushing it, but he handled it. We kind of gauged it yesterday to see how we'd work through it, and he's a big part of it."

Additionally, McCarthy was complementary of Allar's intangibles and the way he commanded the huddle in practice, which are prerequisites to succeed at the position.

"To make sure the defense is seeing the four or five different personnel groups and those types of things, that's what the defense needs," McCarthy said. "They need the formations, they need the motions, they need the communication, and they need to make the adjustments. I felt really good about that. If your quarterback can't handle it, then you don't get to go to the speed and the tempo and the pre-snap that we were able to go. I thought Drew did a hell of a job."

Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) runs with the ball during the third quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Steelers Putting Work in With Allar

The benefit of having Allar as the only participating signal caller at rookie minicamp was that Pittsburgh's entire coaching staff could pay more attention to him.

The 22-year-old's arm strength and size are exactly what every organization covets in a quarterback prospect, but he's behind in most other aspects of the position.

Plenty of videos circulated around social media of Allar participating in numerous footwork drills, and that's all a part of the process of building him up from the ground level and getting him on the right track moving forward.

He has a ton of development and growth ahead of him, and while he likely won't see the field during the regular season (particularly if Aaron Rodgers returns), Allar's potential is sky-high.

Make sure to bookmark Steelers On SI, and find our podcast All Steelers Talk on YouTube or anywhere you listen!