drew allar: Ex-Penn State star mounts the pressure on Drew Allar with major expectation ahead of senior season under HC James Franklin

Drew Allar will enter the 2025 season as one of the biggest stars in college football. According to former Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Adam Breneman, Allar is the favorite to win the Heisman and be the first pick in the NFL Draft next year.

Breneman said the Penn State quarterback will benefit from playing in one of the top teams in the nation. He explained his views in a video posted on X on Friday.

"I would say Drew Allar absolutely has a shot to win the Heisman. He is probably my Heisman favorite right now. He's got one of the best rosters in the country around him...

"If Penn State can win the big games next year, Allar's name will be number one in the Heisman conversation. Let alone, he'll probably be the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft," Adam Breneman said.

Expand Tweet

After losing in the College Football Playoff semifinals last year, Penn State will enter the 2025 season with one of the most talented rosters in the nation. While they lost NFL Draft first-round picks Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren, they will have most of their defense back.

On offense, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen will also return, while the receiver room will improve with incoming transfers Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross. During the spring, they added former Syracuse slot receiver Trebor Pena.

Drew Allar is coming off a 3,327-passing-yard season, with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Allar's season ended in heartbreak as his last pass was intercepted by Notre Dame's Christian Grey, setting up the game-winning kick for the Fighting Irish.

Penn State's inability to win big games could be a hurdle for Allar. The Nittany Lions have a 1-18 record against top-five teams under James Franklin.

Regardless of the accolades, Drew Allar is one of the quarterbacks to follow in what is believed to be a strong quarterback class of 2026. The Penn State passer joins LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, Clemson's Cade Klubnik, South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers, Baylor's Sawyer Robinson, and perhaps Texas' Arch Manning.

Mel Kiper also likes Drew Allar's chance to be top QB of 2026 draft

ESPN Draft analyst Mel Kiper is another insider who believes Drew Allar has a chance to be the top quarterback taken in the 2026 NFL draft.

Speaking on "The Adam Schefter Podcast," the analyst looked ahead to next year's draft and found the Nittany Lions' signal-caller as the potential top pick.

“This is the Drew Allar year. With another year to really step up to maybe become a number one overall pick or somewhere in the mix to be the first quarterback,” Mel Kiper said.

Allar was also considered a potential top prospect if he entered the NFL Draft this year. However, he decided to go back to State College for one more season.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

Know More

Penn State Nittany Lions Fan? Check out the latest Nittany Lions depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash