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Steelers rookie QB Drew Allar tries to be a quick study

Chris Harlan
By Chris Harlan
4 Min Read July 29, 2026 | 8 hours ago
| Wednesday, July 29, 2026 8:02 p.m.
Steelers quarterback Drew Allar throws a touchdown pass on the last play of practice Wednesday. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)

Drew Allar was the last Pittsburgh Steelers player to leave the practice field Wednesday, sticking around to sign autographs on the first day of training camp.

The rookie delighted the fans a bit earlier, too, when he zipped a touchdown pass into a tight window on the final play of practice. Working as the fourth-string quarterback, his red-zone laser to Robert Tonyan was the day’s only touchdown and drew cheers from the crowd at Saint Vincent.

“It’s a very unique environment, which is very cool to be a part of,” Allar said. “Obviously, we have a tremendous amount of support from the fans. It’s really cool to see them out here on Day 1.”

But the 22-year-old also talked favorably about the support he is receiving from Mike McCarthy, offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio, quarterbacks coach Tom Arth and the three other QBs on the roster.

A third-round draft pick in April, the former Penn State passer is the latest student of McCarthy’s famed QB school. Arth is his position coach, Angelichio oversees the offense, but McCarthy has proven to be a hands-on head coach when it comes to quarterbacks.

“He’s in probably 90% of our meetings, if he doesn’t have a meeting going on,” Allar said. “Whenever he’s free, he’s with us. It’s always good having the head coach, the quarterback coach and the offensive coordinator on the same page with the rest of the quarterbacks.

“We have a lot of good talks in the quarterback meetings about just general offensive philosophy and things that we’re trying to get done. And I’m definitely learning a lot from everybody in that room.”

The Steelers were simulating an end-of-game situation in the final practice session Wednesday. Presented by coaches as the final play of a game, Allar had one red-zone snap and zipped the ball to Tonyan over the middle.

“It was hell of a ball,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “… It was cool to see Drew come out here and do that.”

The 6-foot-5, 228-pounder was the fourth quarterback selected in this year’s draft. A few weeks after drafting him, McCarthy and his assistant coaches got to work — and one of their first goals was to improve his footwork.

Allar says that’s been a success.

“My biggest improvement would be footwork, but in the sense of just playing in rhythm in the offense,” Allar said. “A lot of the quarterback position is playing in rhythm and on time. I feel like at first I was kind of drinking through a fire hose, so to speak, and you’re trying to process so much information.

“But once I got halfway through OTAs and really into minicamp, it really started to slow down for me, and I could focus on the nuances of throwing and playing quarterback.”

McCarthy’s quarterback school relies heavily on video analysis. Practice drills are recorded and analyzed daily, a process Rodgers and Arth once experienced as former Packers quarterbacks under McCarthy.

The QB workouts aren’t as long or strenuous nowadays, thanks to league rules that limit the time teams can practice. But video work remains a key element, Allar said.

“It’s not just something that’s filmed and kind of put to the side,” he said. “It’s emphasized throughout those quarterback meetings. I feel like that’s unique because a lot of people can preach they’re about the quarterback and quarterback fundamentals. But if you never talk about it in the meetings, sometimes that doesn’t really correlate. And we definitely emphasize the very small details and mundane things that will show up in an important time.”

As one of four quarterbacks on the roster, Allar took snaps Wednesday behind starter Aaron Rodgers, veteran backup Mason Rudolph and second-year pro Will Howard. McCarthy has suggested all four quarterbacks could make the 53-man roster, but that’s an unusual approach.

Allar described the quarterback room as “competitive,” but not in a toxic way.

“It’s a great room to be a part of,” he said. “We want the best for each other. I think that’s the best thing about the room in general. Those three guys have been a tremendous help to me. They’re going out of their way to help me and answer my questions, so it’s been nothing but great.”


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