Scouting Drew Allar: How the Penn State QB Can Be a Top 10 Pick in 2026

Summary

Podcast Summary: Scouting Drew Allar: How the Penn State QB Can Be a Top 10 Pick in 2026

Podcast Information:

• Title: The McShay Show
• Host/Author: The Ringer
• Episode: Scouting Drew Allar: How the Penn State QB Can Be a Top 10 Pick in 2026
• Release Date: June 9, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of The McShay Show, NFL Draft and College Football Analyst Todd McShay teams up with renowned scout Mel Kiper Jr. to delve deep into the prospects of Drew Allar, the standout quarterback from Penn State University. The primary focus is to evaluate Allar's potential to ascend into the top 10 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Beyond the technical analysis, the hosts also interject personal anecdotes, providing listeners with a well-rounded perspective on both the player and the analysts themselves.

Personal Anecdotes and Host Interaction

Before diving into the scouting analysis, Todd and Mel share a brief personal story, highlighting the camaraderie and long-standing relationship between them. Todd recounts attending a graduation party in Derry, New Hampshire, celebrating Steve’s daughter, Amaya, which underscores the depth of their friendship spanning nearly three decades. This segment, while personal, serves to humanize the hosts and build a connection with the audience.

Todd McShay [04:08]: “I just want to share with the audience... it was a beautiful, beautiful thing.”

Mel briefly mentions a missed culinary experience at Buxton’s Pizza, emphasizing the importance of savoring local gems, which adds a lighthearted touch to the episode.

Introduction to Drew Allar's Profile

The core of the episode revolves around the detailed scouting report of Drew Allar. Todd introduces the segment by emphasizing the complexity and challenges of evaluating a quarterback of Allar's caliber.

Todd McShay [00:51]: “Scouting, it's a lot like pimping. It ain't easy, man.”

Physical Attributes and Combine Metrics

Drew Allar is portrayed as an imposing figure on the field, standing at 6'5" and weighing 238 pounds. While his official 40-yard dash time is estimated at 4.90 seconds based on high school combines, his build suggests significant strength and presence in the pocket.

Todd McShay [12:23]: “Allar, 6 5, 238 pounds, estimated 4.90 yard dash.”

Mel comments on Allar's physicality, noting his size compared to peers and his ability to carry the ball effectively despite not being exceptionally fast.

Mel Kiper Jr. [12:28]: “Bigger than a lot of the other quarterbacks we've been watching... he carries it pretty well.”

Performance Metrics and College Career Highlights

Drew Allar’s college statistics reveal a promising yet nuanced career. In 2023, as a full-time starter, he completed approximately 60% of his passes, throwing for 25 touchdowns against 2 interceptions, resulting in an impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio of 4.9 to 1 over the last two years.

Todd McShay [13:05]: “He completed just basically 60%. It was 59.9 of his throws, 25 touchdowns. Did I write that down? Maybe. I found my first two interceptions.”

Mel highlights Allar's remarkable achievement by comparing him to Tennessee's Hen and Hooker, who also threw over 25 touchdowns with minimal interceptions, a rarity in FBS quarterbacks.

Mel Kiper Jr. [13:16]: “He's the only FBS quarterbacks ever to throw 25 plus touchdowns and two or few interceptions in a season.”

Trait Evaluation: Mental Makeup, Accuracy, Arm Strength, Pocket Mobility

The hosts employ a grading system to evaluate Allar's key quarterback traits, rating each on a scale from 1 to 5, with lower numbers indicating stronger performance.

1. Mental Makeup

   • Todd's Score: 1.5
   • Mel's Score: 2.5

   Both analysts agree that Allar exhibits exceptional mental fortitude, handling pressure well and maintaining composure during high-stakes moments.

   Todd McShay [14:32]: “Mental makeup one through five. He is exceptional.”

2. Accuracy

   • Todd's Score: 3
   • Mel's Score: 3

   While Allar demonstrates strong accuracy in ideal conditions, his performance falters when receivers run routes that move away from him. This inconsistency is attributed to a potential visualization issue, where he struggles to anticipate and adjust to dynamic play developments.

   Todd McShay [15:13]: “Accuracy 2. I gave him a 3, and I got a lot to get into here.”

   Mel Kiper Jr. [17:53]: “When his receivers are running away from him... he just doesn't have that feel or visualization to know where to put that ball.”

3. Arm Strength

   • Todd's Score: 1
   • Mel's Score: 1.5

   Allar possesses a powerful arm, capable of delivering precise long throws with significant velocity. His ability to dissect defenses with layered throws is particularly noteworthy.

   Mel Kiper Jr. [17:53]: “He has a big arm... all of his throws have great energy on them.”

4. Pocket Mobility

   • Todd's Score: 4
   • Mel's Score: 3

   Allar is not exceptionally agile but exhibits sufficient mobility to extend plays and occasionally scramble for vital yards. His movement within the pocket is methodical, and while not elite, it is adequate for creating necessary space.

   Mel Kiper Jr. [20:40]: “He's coordinated, but he's not athletic.”

Big Game Performances and Areas for Improvement

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Allar's performances in high-pressure games against major teams such as Oregon, SMU, Boise State, and Notre Dame. While he showcased grit and determination, certain aspects of his game under duress revealed vulnerabilities:

• Oregon Game: Demonstrated competitive grit, making crucial plays despite a loss. However, missed opportunities when under significant pressure.

  Todd McShay [32:14]: “He makes huge strides and... has some competitive fight that I really liked.”

• SMU Game: Struggled with accuracy due to intense pressure, leading to missed simple throws. The offensive line's inability to protect him effectively was a highlighted issue.

  Mel Kiper Jr. [33:25]: “He misses badly on an incoming intermediate throw.”

• Boise State Game: Inconsistent performance with incomplete passes, indicating challenges in timing and touch on throws.

• Notre Dame Playoff Game: Notable for a critical interception in the final seconds, which underscored his need for better game management and decision-making under pressure.

  Mel Kiper Jr. [29:02]: “He throws an interception that basically like, gives the game away to Notre Dame.”

Comparisons to Current and Past NFL Quarterbacks

Allar is compared to Joe Flacco, particularly in his athleticism and pocket presence, albeit with some distinctions in mobility and agility. Additionally, Mel draws parallels between Allar and other prospects like Will Levis, emphasizing their differing strengths and developmental needs.

Mel Kiper Jr. [36:25]: “I see a guy that can be elite. Whether or not it comes together remains to be seen at this point.”

Todd McShay [36:33]: “Levis was a better athlete... both those guys have the arm and potential.”

Areas for Development

Both analysts agree that while Allar possesses many desirable traits, certain areas require refinement to elevate him to elite status:

1. Footwork and Pocket Presence: Improving footwork can enhance his ability to throw accurately under pressure and manage the pocket more effectively.

   Todd McShay [34:42]: “It's all footwork. And whether that's just, you know, being fired up for the game and never, you know, like, really settling in, I don't know.”

2. Visualization and Anticipation: Enhancing his ability to anticipate receiver movements and adjust throws accordingly can mitigate inaccuracies when receivers move away.

   Todd McShay [27:33]: “He just doesn't have that feel or visualization to know where to put that ball.”

3. Agility Training: Although not necessary to make him a dynamic runner, increased agility can aid in his ability to extend plays and evade pressure.

   Todd McShay [35:23]: “If I'm him in this off season, it is agility. Agility... I've got to have a little bit more juice when extending the pocket.”

Future Prospects and Draft Potential

Despite the areas needing improvement, both Todd and Mel express optimism regarding Allar's draft stock. His physical attributes, combined with his college performance metrics, position him as a strong contender for a top 10 NFL Draft pick. However, they caution against a "lazy evaluation," emphasizing the need for continued development and consistent performance in upcoming seasons.

Todd McShay [41:00]: “He is so damn close and he is so damn talented and, and I do legitimately think he has a chance to be a top 10 pick.”

Mel underscores the importance of Allar capitalizing on his opportunities and refining his skills to match his physical capabilities.

Mel Kiper Jr. [40:34]: “I hope Aller has a better year than Levis did... he can be elite.”

Conclusion

The episode provides a comprehensive analysis of Drew Allar's potential to emerge as a top NFL quarterback. While acknowledging his impressive arm strength, mental makeup, and physical stature, Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. highlight critical areas for improvement, particularly in accuracy under pressure and pocket mobility. Their balanced evaluation suggests that with targeted development and consistent performance, Allar has the tools to ascend into the upper echelons of the NFL Draft in 2026.

Listeners are left with a nuanced understanding of Allar's capabilities and the expectations surrounding his future career. The hosts' blend of technical scouting and personal insight offers a thorough perspective, making this episode a valuable resource for fans and analysts alike interested in the next generation of NFL talent.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Todd McShay [00:51]: “Scouting, it's a lot like pimping. It ain't easy, man.”
• Mel Kiper Jr. [13:16]: “He's the only FBS quarterbacks ever to throw 25 plus touchdowns and two or few interceptions in a season.”
• Todd McShay [14:32]: “Mental makeup one through five. He is exceptional.”
• Mel Kiper Jr. [17:53]: “When his receivers are running away from him... he just doesn't have that feel or visualization to know where to put that ball.”
• Todd McShay [41:00]: “He is so damn close and he is so damn talented and, and I do legitimately think he has a chance to be a top 10 pick.”

Supporting Resources:

For listeners interested in a deeper dive into Todd McShay's scouting reports and mock drafts, subscribing to The McShay Report is recommended. Additionally, viewers can access full first-round coverage through the provided YouTube link.

Join the Conversation:

Engage with Todd and Mel by subscribing to their respective channels on YouTube and Spotify, ensuring you stay updated with the latest analyses, mock drafts, and game-day reactions every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Disclaimer:

All opinions expressed in this summary reflect the discussions and viewpoints presented by Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. during the episode and are intended for informational purposes only.

Transcript

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[Todd McShay]

Scouting, it's a lot like pimping. It ain't easy, man. Summer scouting series continues with Drew Aller today. And there's a lot to unpack. Just 319 days until the NFL draft. Minch, you good?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I'm great, man.

[Todd McShay]

All right, let's hit it. All right. I read all the comments now. Told you this before. I read all the comments. I made like it's, it's a friendly neighborhood, but it's not without anger and frustration. M. There's honesty there. I'm told to shut up. Shut up about schedules, shut up about thanking us, shut up about, you know, you're scouting, like all these different things. So I will shut up. Just a few housekeeping items real quickly. Okay, first of all, the McShay Report. Just subscribe. Google it. Go, subscribe. Today came the, the Drew Aller report. And that's who we're going to. We're going to, we're going to, to break down today an interesting one. We're going to get into it for, for a chunk today. That's going to be the focus of our show today as we continue the summer scouting series. And part of the summer scouting series is to take the time when we have the time go through the tape. Both men and I independently. I was with men the other night and I'll get to that to a sec into a second. But we like, we knew we, we had watched the tape. We like, we refused to talk to one another about it until we're on this show. I think it's, I just like the process because I've always wanted to have a show where like, the conversations, the meetings and everything that we do leading up to the draft is shared with our, with our audience. And so that's what we're going to Do Mitch. I don't want to say thank you to everyone for supporting the show, but tell people how they can support us moving forward. Yeah, go ahead.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Thank you for listening and subscribing. Go to the YouTube channel, the McShay Show. Hit the subscribe button. Hit the follow button on Spotify. Please consider, like Todd said, subscribing to the McShay report. There's some good stuff in there. I know, Listen, I know it's June. I get it. But this stuff is interesting, and you're going to want to be able to look back on it and see where this guy was at this point in the process. So just consider looking into it, all right?

[Todd McShay]

Because we are 319 days away from the draft. You know, we have a little bit of time to just. To just cut it up and talk.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

I wanted to share with the audience something, I don't know that, like, I feel like on the show people are starting to get us, get to know us a little bit more intimately, and they will more over time. And I think you and I are both people who are happy to share maybe not the most interesting lives in the world, but we're happy to share what's going on in our lives. I had an awesome weekend, and it was highlighted by going up to Derry, New Hampshire. I just wanted to take a minute. Like, the long short of it is it was Steve's daughter's graduation from college, Amaya. And so Marissa and I were like, yeah, let's get in the car, let's drive up. You know, not that long a Drive. Hit 93 right on up. By the way, Mench is an absolute softy when it comes to, like that. It's easier to get from Derry, New Hampshire to Boston just for people to get perspective than it is from where I live in, in the. On the coast of Massachusetts to Boston.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Time wise, I thought it would take you two hours. Like, I thought it would take you two hours.

[Todd McShay]

Took me an hour and 20 minutes. It was a piece of cake. You act like we live in different countries. Like there's a plane and a ferry between us and there isn't. So that was enlightening. That was enlightening. See how close you are. But. But I just want to share this with the audience. Like, there are times in life where, where as a man or as a woman, but men more often, I feel like in my experiences, they don't step up to the plate in life. Right. And. And you're. You're faced with something and it's fight or Flight. It's, it's either embrace it and, and be awesome or, or, you know, I'm just, it's too much for me to handle. It's men's story and Mensch can tell his story, but I just want to share with the audience like that, that beautiful bearded man with the blinker blank hat that he's wearing. He was, he was faced with some, some circumstances in life and he had an opportunity to step up or kind of run. My man stepped up and so I've known him for like 28, 29 years now. We've worked together for almost 25 years. And I've got to know, I was at his wedding.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It feels like 50.

[Todd McShay]

I know, I know, but, but just. So I'm at this graduation party and we're celebrating Amaya, who's wonderful accomplishments and is getting ready to move back to New York City and to carry on her life. And I'm sure it's going to be a wonderful young professional life and enjoy the, all the, the wonderful things about Manhattan. Right. And I lived there fresh out of college and I was kind of sharing some of the experiences with her and it's just a cool like high energy place to start your career with. And it's, you either got to be unbeliev. Believably rich or just be poor and deal with it. You know, those are the two things.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

But the point of all this is my man Mensch like to see a blended family and everything he's done, it was like a celebration of, of everything that Mench has done. His wonderful wife Iris, like Iris is the glue. Don't get this twisted. I think everyone involved in this note knows but, but Mensch has been the man, you know, and he stepped up and so to spend that time with, with Amaya who just, you know, I haven't seen her since she was a kid, man, and like to see me from like distance and come up, running up and big hug and the smile and just the just beautiful young woman like in all, all the ways that you could ever imagine and want your daughter to be. And then to meet Tyler, who Mensch has, has a podcast with and he's doing great. He's 25 years old and he's moving on with his professional life and talking about golfing and the podcast he does with, with Steve and they're just, and, and even like, and Jasmine, Jasmine came up and it grabbed me and Marissa and you know, big hugs and we didn't get to see Stella, who's his five Year old and she's a bed.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

He's got a big gap between kids keeping them young. But I've met her on FaceTime, but she was five years old. It's not the. That was not the event for her. But just to see it all was really cool. So I just wanted to share that with you. Mensch Proud's, like, condescending. I'm really pleased to see where you are in life, where your family is. How hard I know you've worked to get your family to where they are and just to give the audience a sense of, like, the man you are and everything that's. That's not football and what you've gone through. So I appreciate you allowing us to be a part of that. And it was a beautiful, beautiful thing. So that was cool.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah. Appreciate it. Great wife, great kids. It's all about them. I really didn't do much. Yeah. Let's keep it moving. This is uncomfortable for me. I will say the one thing you missed the biggest part of the weekend, which is Buxton's Pizza.

[Todd McShay]

The.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The place that we had it at their pizza is unbelievable restaurants. Unbelievable. If you're in dairy. If you're in southern New Hampshire.

[Todd McShay]

I didn't want to share it because I.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Check it out.

[Todd McShay]

An expansion. An expansion needs to come. Like, the property and. And one more. One more oven. I'm a lunatic. I can't go to a great restaurant or especially, like, a place with pizza and not, like, got to talk to the owner.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

The process. What's going to be. I'm telling you, put it in New York City. And people are talking in New York City about, this is one of the best that our city has to offer. And there's nowhere better in the world, including, like, Napoli in Italy, like, the home of pizza that has better pizza. So, yeah, that place is awesome. It is a hidden gem. I hope there's expansion in the future because. Because what they're putting out of that oven, man, like, more people need to get an opportunity to eat it.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah. And we need to move on. But I do appreciate you and Marissa coming up. It was really nice, you guys.

[Todd McShay]

Of course. Of course. Quick news. Unfortunate news. Evan Stewart, wide receiver from Oregon, just. Just learned in the last couple days a torn patellar tendon. It's going to jeopardize the 2025 season. It really does suck. And I was.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

There's no other way to say it. Right? I mean, it just sucks.

[Todd McShay]

And I think he came back. I think. I think he came back because he didn't finish the season he wanted to. Was kind of nicked up there was talking to some scouts, like, man, like, he's got some growing up to do. He's like a lot of, A lot of players the nil and like a little bit of entitlement and all those sorts of things, but, like, not a bad guy by any stretch. Just. Just got to do a little growing up. So when I talked to scouts in the league about Evan Stewart, it was, yeah, Tez is awesome on Saturdays, this guy is the guy, you know, and just watching and watching tape, like this is. Even before watching the season, it's like, oh, yeah, I see it. Like, he's special. And so we're talking to first round wide receiver who's not likely now to play during the season. And it's a hit and it's. It's too bad to. To see, but. But you just hope for a full recovery. He's an. He's a season away from staying healthy and putting. Putting that tape back out there from. For potentially working his way back into the first round. But. But it was just unfortunate news that I think was, you know, it's important to share it on this show.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, I guess it's better now than in camp or in September, but it, you know, it's not great.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. So that's a hit for the Ducks. I had another conversation with the scout, actually, this morning. This day is running long. I thought it was last night. It was this morning. And we're just kind of exchanging notes, going back and forth on text. I call them conversations because I feel like half my conversations now. Right. And it was interesting because the, the scouting world is. It's a cynical bunch, understandably. Like, you know, we. You sign up for finding the flaws and, and all, you know, all those sorts of things. And you're on the road a lot. You're staying at terrible hotels and eating terrible food and you're grinding out, you know, 100 miles between stops and all that. But it was interesting to hear a scout who was like, yo, this quarterback class has got a chance to be his. In his words, sick.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's exciting, right? It's exciting. We'll see what happens. I'll be excited in June, right? We can just be excited of the.

[Todd McShay]

We're allowed to be. The sun's out in the northeast. Weather's getting warm. I hear the birds chirping when I wake up in the morning. And we got quarterbacks in the 2026 class. Like, how blessed am I right now?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right? Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

You know, is it fun? It is.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

We had a hard time not talking about it on Saturday night. There are a couple false starts of whoa, no, no, leave it, leave it to the show. We'll talk about it then. Because, I mean that's, you know, we have other stuff to talk about. I was excited about some of those things we were seeing.

[Todd McShay]

All right, today's Drew Eller and if you, you're just joining today, we're going through summer, summer scouting series. We're going through the top quarterbacks first. We're going to get to a couple units like that are highly skilled that we like. Clemson's defense is one of them. I'll give you an example. We're going to do a couple of those things and go through some day. There you go, getting back in the good graces and we'll get to some position groups and as we continue our scouting process throughout the summer, Drew Aller, 6 5, 238 pounds, estimated 49040 yard dash based off of, you know, past, you know, like high school combines, all that stuff. Call it what it is.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Big dude.

[Todd McShay]

Big dude. Go ahead.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, bigger than a lot of the other quarterbacks we've been watching. I mean this guy, he's not, he's not Lenore Sellers, quite that size, I don't think, but he is a big dude and he carries it pretty well. He's not fast. We'll get into this a little bit more, but he carries it pretty well.

[Todd McShay]

So Aller played kind of. I think he had 60 past attempts in 2022. Right back a few years. Okay. Excuse me. Took over the full time starting job in 2023. Completed just basically 60%. It was 59.9 of his throws, 25 touchdowns. Did I write that down? Maybe. I found my first two interceptions. Is that right?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, his, his touchdown to interception ratio is insane. It was that actually that year. I have a little nugget on this.

[Todd McShay]

It's 4.9 to 1 in the last two years. Interception ratio is.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, he joined Tennessee's Hen and hooker, who did it in 2022 the year before, as the only FBS quarterbacks ever to throw 25 plus touchdowns and two or few interceptions in a season.

[Todd McShay]

So I didn't write it down wrong.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

No, that's right, man. 25.

[Todd McShay]

All right.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

But first year start in the Big Ten.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. And, and despite that though, I think everyone agrees, from Penn State fans to his coaching staff to NFL scouts, everyone agrees. It was a, it was a nice jump. It was the kind of jump you want to see in terms of performance from first year starter to second year starter. Okay. It was boom, boom. And in this past year, 66.5%, 24 touchdowns, almost identical. Eight interceptions, but more so like what you saw on tape. I saw a big improvement. Okay. We talked about that. We've tried it. Different variations as we go through the summer scouting series. I like when we just go through and play the guessing game one through five on the, on the, on the quarterback. Specific traits. Those traits include mental makeup accuracy, release slash, arm strength, and pocket mobility. Okay, I'm gonna say it. Mensch is going to tell me his grade. I'm going to tell you mine, and then we're going to take time and break it all down. We're going to let Mench start because he's doing such a great job doing that.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

All right.

[Todd McShay]

Me, mental makeup 1. Being exceptional. 2. Good. 3, average. 4, below average. 5 is marginal. It's like, it's like golf. The lower the number, the happier are at the end of the day. Mental makeup one through five. What?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You got 2.5.

[Todd McShay]

Oh, you're giving out 0.5s now?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, no, I'm just. I'm like, I almost gave it 2.8 to get under your skin, but 2.5.

[Todd McShay]

Interesting. I gave him 1.5. All right, we'll. We'll come back surprised.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Accuracy 2. I gave him a 3, and I got a lot to get into here.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I do, too. I hear you. I. That'll be a good back and forth Release. Arm strength, 1.5.

[Todd McShay]

I gave him a 1, but I'm good with 1.5. I was kind of teetering. Yeah, I'm good with that. But we're both saying the same thing. It's. It's really, really good. It might not be top, top line and it's not, but it's really damn good. Pocket mobility 1 through 5.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

3.

[Todd McShay]

I gave him 4, but I hear you. I gave him 4, but I hear you. Okay, good. So we get some stuff to talk about.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah. Where do you want to go? Where do you want to start? You want to start with the arm?

[Todd McShay]

No, I don't care. I don't. You don't have to be beholden to any category here. Any. Any of the. The four specific traits. Yeah, just take, take it somewhere and I'll bounce it off of you. Go ahead.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I see all of the tools necessary to develop into an elite pocket passer. I see the arm strength when he is on a roll and when. And we're Going to get into this. When he throws with a strong base, he throws on time and his feet are right. He can pick defenses apart. He can take them apart. He. I've talked about layered throws, about quarterbacks who can drop the ball in over linebackers, guys who can do that. I really like that you Talk about Play 49 against Notre Dame in that playoff game. He layers a ball right over the linebacker, hits Tyler Warren in stride. I'm like, man, that's. That's an NFL throw. I love when he makes plays like that. They, I think it was another playoff game was Boise State when he hit Tyler Warren in the corner of the end zone. The touch, the timing, then they're, you know, you look at the arm strength. Play 75 against Oregon, he's got a defender basically pulling him backwards. So there is. It's no lower body. There is no lower body on this throw. And he gets enough zip and velocity to throw a touchdown pass late in that game. Again, when he's right and when he's on a roll, I think he's got. And to get into the pocket mobility really quickly for this, because when I'm talking about being an elite pocket passer, he's. He's kind of got heavy feet. I get it. He's not a guy that's going to blow you away with the way he moves, but he has enough of a feel for it to move around and create space and extend place. Like there was more than. On one occasion, I was like, I this, that should have been a sack. I don't know how he's extending that play because he's not that kind of an athlete, but he finds ways. And the same thing with scrambling every once in a while, he just tucks it, gets five or six, seven yards, whatever he needs, get the first down. So it's not, it's not an elite trait, but it's good enough.

[Todd McShay]

Aller, to me, was one of the more complex. I started this whole show off by comparing scouting to pimping, right? It ain't easy. And, and guys like Allergies, guys like Aller make it, make it challenging. And I'm not even saying that as a negative, but some guys, it's like, yeah, I know what he is and I actually know what Aller is. My question with Aller is the parts that are. That leave you lacking or leave you wanting or that are lacking in his game. The complex part is, for me at least, can he improve in those areas? Okay, that's the complexity for me. Now, let me. Let Me explain. So there's a whole bunch of positives with him and there. And there's a whole bunch of positive positives that translate to the NFL. He's big, he's smart, he's tough, he's tall. He sees the entire field. He's got an easy, smooth stroke. He's got a big arm that gets a lot of energy on the football. And you can see that Latent throws, whether he's driving it down the field, he's trying to get it over the DB's head, and it comes down. Some guys, it kind of flutters down or kind of sails down. His is like. It's like a missile, like a military missile.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You know, it's that energy. I, I wrote the same word. Energy, energy, energy. Like, all of his throws have great energy on them now.

[Todd McShay]

I think he actually sees the whole field, and he goes through progressions pretty quickly for a college quarterback. I really do. I was impressed with the, you know, right, 1, 2, 3, left, back to the middle. Like, I, I, I saw that over and over.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

Okay. And he. And here's one of the tricky parts, the mobility portion of it. Now, Yeah, I gave him four pocket mobility, but I want to make it perfectly clear. And this is this. I don't know that I was this late, like, 233 plays or whatever. It was this late in a, in, in a, you know, watching tape through a clip reel where I was still trying to, like, pinpoint how I, like, what's my bottom line here? How do I feel? I think I, I weirdly think he's kind of a decent athlete. Like, he's balanced. He will make a guy miss. Like, but by sliding, he's like, he's got good body control. He knows when to run. He's got good instincts on when to run and all those things. But you said it. His feet are heavy.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right. He's coordinated. Coordinated, but he's not athletic is kind of how I saw it. He plays under control. He know. He almost knows his limitations. Right.

[Todd McShay]

He's a big, sturdy, coordinated, like, yeah, like, I don't know whether I put in athletic here or not, but a big, sturdy, coordinated, good, like, moves well. There's nothing gangly. There's nothing.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

That's a compliment, by the way. That's a strength.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, totally. There's nothing awkward in his movement. He's sturdy. He's well built. And when he takes off to run, he's smart. He knows when to take off and run. He knows the moments. He knows. He sees the defensive backs with their back turn. He knows the opportunity moments and there are a lot of times on tape where I question myself because I'm like, well shit, that's like the ninth time in 50 plays where he's tucked the ball and running. He's gotten a first down that's productive but it ain't pretty because it's slow and kind of slow footed but he's doing it and that was the hard part. Right? Like you never saw Brady do it. And that's kind of where some of my flack I gave him a comp of Joe Flacco like a younger Joe Flacco.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Interesting.

[Todd McShay]

I consider that not like right out of college Joe Flacco because Joe Flacco was weirdly athletic then. Kind of like mid career Joe Flacco Flacco where it's like not as slow and not quite as like stuck to the pocket as Flacco now, but somewhere in the middle. I don't know. I, I just the big strong arm, big guy, kind of really coordinated, has some athleticism to him, but my goodness, there's not a sniff of twitch suddenness burst. Like I can't even sniff one. Okay, so that's that. And that's not even that complicated. But. But it was interesting because I kept looking at him making productive plays with his feet and being like, but he's not fast, he's not sudden, he's not twitchy. He's none of those things. Right? Here's the other thing and.

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[Todd McShay]

I, I struggle, I struggle with it until I think I got it. And I don't remember ever writing this about a player before. And that's why I, I, I love doing this. Okay. On platinum on platform feet under them base as you were talking about men deadly accurate thrower, the football. But, but when forced off the spot it's like, like it drops off the shelf and so go ahead.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

There's one. I agree with you for one exception and it was kind of strange to me. I saw him make a couple throws where he's climbing, where he's going, just attacking the line of scrimmage and he can do that.

[Todd McShay]

I, I, I wrote here, I said, I, I said particularly, particularly throwing right and, and with some guys and we'll get to Mendoza later in the week. Some guys are a lot better going right than left or left than right. He's equally like, he struggles equally in terms of his accuracy. Throwing the football, rolling right, rolling left, but climbing, not a problem. It's not necessarily on the move and his feet don't have to be perfect. And because he makes some of those throws where he's off balance and doing this and climbing and doing like a little slide and throwing, he's okay. But when he does that roll right or left, it's like, it's weird how inaccurate he is sometimes. Okay, so that's that part of it. Here's the other interesting part of his evaluation. This is the part I've never written down before. He is deadly accurate. If you go back and watch through this lens, he's deadly accurate when the receiver is facing him, sees his numbers or sharp cutting, horizontal or crosser. When it's like in front of him. Okay, he's deadly accurate like, like give him a 1 accuracy. Okay. When his receivers are running away from him. Like I'm talking even flat routes, dump offs or a post and he, and they don't run. And I don't know if it's the wide receivers or if they're, the coaching staff knows he's not, he's just doesn't have that feel and sense for it. And so I've never written that before. When a receiver's running away from him and he's got, I think it's a visualization thing for him. And the reason I say that is because if he sees it and knows it, even if it's a sharp cutting comeback, even if it's a sharp cutting in route or a crosser that he's got to lead a receiver to, but if he sees that vis. If he can visualize it, he's. He's great. He's not good. He's great. But when it's kind of like he's got a throw and the guy's running away from him, he just doesn't have that feel or visualization to know where to put that ball. All right? And then, and then as part of that, I hope people are following this because it was complex when I was writing it. It was more complex when I was watching it. So if the receivers in front of him, if everything, like, he knows where it is, if it's a crosser in cutting route, even a sharp out out cutting, anything that's cutting horizontal or back towards him, phenomenal. Running away from even the quick dump struggles. The other part is I. This is why I think it is like a visualization thing for him. And this is what, I don't know, like how much can. And I assume you can improve that. More reps, maybe some, some different. Someone else in his ear working on whatever it is, if you notice, and I'm not a biggie, patted the ball twice. Like when people are talking about that Shador Sanders at pro day, dude, I.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Was like, if you don't, if you don't like Shador's pat, you're not gonna like this kid, man, because it is so pronounced.

[Todd McShay]

But, but here's the thing with his pat of the ball, and I went back and I started and I drilled into like 20 plays on it. It's. He does that quick extra pat because he want, he wants the receiver to declare the angle of his break. Okay, I feel like a CIA agent and I deciphered a code. I swear to God, I feel like a CIA agent because I'm watching all these things and they don't add up to what you normally see on tape. And it's different than what I'm used to seeing. But when you start, when I started to put it all together, I'm like, yeah, he needs to see the angle. It's a visualization thing. He'll give an extra pat. He'll throw to a spot in certain things when he knows where it's going. But he wants to see that quick one more step because the receiver could go horizontal. He could go 60 degree angle 45, you know, he wants to see that first step out. And so you hear people say, well he wants to see it and yeah, he does, but give me a little bit more and I hope I'm providing a little bit more context here. So that's where I landed on it. And I'm exhausted, I'm out of breath. I feel good.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I hear you. I think that's a great point. Love the point. I feel like we're missing the elephant in the room though. What is the knock on Penn State? They can't win the big game.

[Todd McShay]

I. I've started to say and I didn't finish well. No, it's also their receivers, man.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I understand the receiver, the new receiver room this year. It's a big year for Drew Aller. New receiver room this year. They got a couple of transfer. The kid that came in from Troy looks super talented. It's going to be interesting to see if they can get more out of the receivers because you obviously use Tyler Warren. It's going to be a big turnover. Got the great running backs back. Singleton was also a great receiver. I think there's some stuff to be optimistic about it because last year, man, find some guys that can separate and some guys that can catch the football consistently on the outside. It was, it was bad. It was a glaring weakness and I get that and it's something you need to take into account. But the knock on Penn State is they can't win the big game. And for Drew Allard, look, this is that, that run where they went, Oregon, Big Ten, smu, Boise State and then Notre Dame in the playoffs. The last three games of the playoff games he was 50. He completed 53.2% of his passes with six touchdowns and three interceptions. I, I thought he was, he was good at times. I thought we talked about this on the show at the time. I thought during the Oregon game, I was encouraged even though we lost that game because I thought he battled to the end. I thought he made some big time plays at the end. I do not feel the same way. I thought, you know, Boise State and SMU were kind of inferior in potence for them. I thought he would have bigger games and he didn't. And then on top of that, the Notre Dame game, especially the fourth quarter, I have some issues. He had a. He had Tyler Warren, they were I think down seven at the time or was tied at the time. Maybe he had Tyler Warren on go like on a wheel route basically and he underthrew it and they got bailed out by Passing for Aaron's call because the ball was picked. And if he just puts that ball farther down the field, Tyler Warren walks in with a touchdown. And there was a couple times he did that. He has great touch, but there are times he puts too much air on the ball. There's times where he doesn't know when to drive it and when to hang it up in the air. And it's great when he gets it right, but there was too much air under that ball. It was the one place he couldn't throw it. Incomplete. Out of the back of the end zone. You missed them. Fine. You cannot throw that. Tyler Warren had three Notre Dame players chasing him. If he just puts the ball ahead of Tyler Warren, it's a touchdown. And then I do think about that interception. 37 seconds left. I love Penn State being aggressive. I love that they want to go. They want to go and win that game and not wait until overtime. And he throws an interception that basically like, gives the game away to Notre Dame to go. Notre Dame kicks the field goal. That's it. That was. To me, you have got to manage the game better than. I know. Better than that at that point. I know you want to be aggressive, but you got to manage it better. And then you look at the year before and again, first year starter, I mean, he looked lost against Michigan, Ohio State the year before. His. His numbers in big games, his performances in big games. Again, not all on him. I thought earlier in the year against Ohio State, I thought he was very okay. He's got to be better in those situations. If he wants to be the guy. If he wants to be the guy in this class, I think he's got to step up. He's got to get a signature win. He's got to have a signature game in one of those games, and we haven't seen that yet. Oh, by the way, he was averaging. I forget what he was averaging in terms of yards. I wrote this down, but it was. It was. It was fewer than. Than 200 yards in those games. Passing. Yeah, it's not good.

[Todd McShay]

The Oregon game, I didn't think he was great, but I did love his competitive grit in that game. Like scrambling, running, fighting, climbing the pocket like that 1, 3, 47 left fourth quarter, guys hanging from his jersey.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Ridiculous throw. Ridiculous.

[Todd McShay]

There were moments in big games where I saw some competitive fight that I really liked. But you ain't wrong, man. I like my positive notes when I'm looking back at Oregon. The SMU game was like a borderline. Was it the SMU Game. Yeah, the SMU game. The pressure stuff in that game. And I wrote down. I was like, note. Like note to 25 opponents. Study the. Study the SMU pressure stuff. They had him. He. He was off. And I. I know it was windy, it was bad conditions and all that stuff, but he missed on, like a simple out to his left. He missed on a dump off. Dump off to his back on a rolling left. Missed badly on an incoming intermediate throw that he almost always hits. The difference was SMU had him uncomfortable in the pocket.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Made a move. If you make a move, it's. He's not as effective. But again, another big game, Boise State. He had. He completed 52% of his passes against Boise State. No touchdowns, 107 or no three touchdowns. Sorry. 171 yards. But if you remember that game, they kept trying to go deep. They kept. Kept trying to attack vertically. And it was just. He. He just wasn't quite. The timing and the touch weren't quite there.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Like my notes in the Notre Dame game. Misses wildly on dub off and flat pressure bearing down. Got to get better on these layups. Next play, early jitters, question mark. Misses a wheel route to 44. Obviously, Warren, no pressure on this one. Makes that throw a lot on tape. So, like, when you're missing things that you're making throughout this course of the season, there's a lot of the same concepts that he was hitting over and over again, and you start to not make them in these big games. You gotta. You gotta mark it down when you're. When you're evaluating. Overthrows running back 10 in the end zone. Required touch. Just overthrew it in the back left corner. That was with 57, 51 seconds left in the first quarter. First play, the second quarter under. Throws a running back in the flat. Again, off target to the running back again. He was off target, that running back, like four or five times. He was behind. It would have been an easy touchdown. They had to settle for a field goal.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

That was his worst footwork game. His. He was. There was times where he was. He was locking his hip by his plant foot. I mean, his front foot was. Wasn't opening up to the receiver and he was trying to throw across his body on easy throws and he was missing him. It was just. It was all. To me, it was all footwork. And whether that's just, you know, being fired up for the game and never, you know, like, really settling in, I don't know. I think it is something you can fix. That is something when you're looking at going forward. That's an easy fix. I mean, not an easy fix, but it's something you can fix. It's just the footwork.

[Todd McShay]

Last year was an awesome year for him in that he made huge strides and he.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

With not a lot of help on the outside. With not a lot of help on the outside.

[Todd McShay]

And we can't. Yeah, we can't. There's no over. You can't overstate that. You can't say that enough because. Because then it becomes a trust issue. Then maybe it's why you're patenting extra time. I don't think that's the answer. But like, but, but he had these opportunities, right? We talk about these quarterbacks now coming in the league with more starts and there's a lot of buzz when we get into the College Football Playoff. Like, yeah, he said he's coming back and yeah, his backup transferred and all those things, but maybe he'll be the. And you know, I'm reading things. He may be the, you know, number two overall pick in this year's class or he, he could be QB2 behind and like, yeah, may, maybe, maybe. But I kind of feel like it's a lazy evaluation at this point.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Oh, you know who my comp was, by the way? I didn't go with Flatco, who with Will Levis. I saw. I see a guy who can. Who has all.

[Todd McShay]

I think that that's a really good floor ceiling as of where Levis is right now. Floor would be Levis. Flacco would be ceiling.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I mean, Aller takes better care of the football than Levis did, which is a, a huge, huge part of that evaluation. Do not get.

[Todd McShay]

Levis was a better athlete. Man, Levis is.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

But both those guys, the arm, the, the potential, the talent, the natural ability, and for Levis, it, it just, it hasn't come together yet. He had that bad last year. But we all thought going into Levis's last year, Kentucky, that he was going to have a, a big year. He was going to be the guy because of the talent, the ability. Hopefully Aller has a better year than Levis did in his last year at Kentucky and we'll see. But that's what I see. I see a guy that can be elite. Whether or not it comes together remains to be seen at this point.

[Todd McShay]

I like him and I like him more than I thought I, I was going to agree watching tape. I see it like all. And that's why I said like, I, I think a lazy evaluation can be made on, on this guy. Because he is big. He's got a big arm. He goes through progressions. He hits some, A lot of really impressive throws. But there's, there's elements that we talked about, certain kinds of throws, certain, you know, certain throws where you don't see it open. Certain throws where he's got to visualize things better, the mobility. What's that going to look like in the NFL with NFL pass rushers running four or five, coming off the edge and, you know, so there's. I want, I need to see more and I need to see him, like you said, play big and big games and I need to see. I'm not where, I'm not writing down early jitters. I'm not writing down, you know, SMU defense kind of threw him off and he never got settled in. But because he has this experience, because he went through these wars and because not, not everything was a success, he's. He's got very specific things to work on. Like if I'm, if I'm him in this off season, it is agility. Agility, agility. Not because I'm going to be a runner and we're doing RPO shit here, but because I need to be more effective throwing the ball. And then when I'm done with all my agility work and I'm never going to be a great, you know, twitchy runner, but I've got to be. I've got to have a little bit more juice when extending the pocket. And when I'm done with my agility work, it's rolling and throwing. It's rolling right, rolling left, rolling right, rolling left. And then when I'm done with that, there's like, I, I'm. I'm. I with nil money, the Internet, like the resources that are out there in the world, I'm getting with Peyton out of the Manning camp and talking about visualization and what are.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Like, there's soaking up whatever he can get.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, right. I'm so, so, so to. He's here, but there's still a, like, there's still a chunk if you're listening on, On Apple or Spotify. Like, I'm saying, like, he, he's like, I don't know. He's down to like the 10 yard line, but he's still got 10 hard yards to earn to get to where I'm like, oh yeah, like, what's. We can talk about him as QB1 this year. Oh yeah, Like, I feel good about using a top 10 pick on him and I think he's going to be a high draft pick. I really do because he's got all those traits, but he's still. There's still stuff to that he has to work on and he's got to improve on. And you could say that about everyone. But he's interesting and different because, my goodness, he does like almost all the things you look for in an NFL prospect at that position really well. But there's just a few things that he's not there on yet. So. This is going to be a fun year to watch for Penn State. I hope. And I'm not like, I'm worried about this stuff. I'm worried about my kids and summer stuff. Like I'm, I just don't do the nil. I'm sorry, the transfer portal. Like, I, I keep an eye on all that stuff. We get to August, we dive into college football. We have all of our connections. We already know. I mean, we're watching tape constantly. But I don't know what Penn State is doing receiver wise. But I hope for him that, that it's a better crew coming in this year, you know?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, I hope. Listen, it's not even that you favor Aller. We hope all these guys.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, it's.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's better for us if we're in December and January and we're talking about. Man, I don't. They're all so freaking good. They've all done so well. They're all so freaking good, you know, And Aller for me is I was with you. I kind of. He exceeded expectations for me. I didn't have a very high opinion after watching some of the stuff last year and I liked him a lot more than I thought. He's put himself in a great. He put himself in a great spot and now we just hope he goes out and takes advantage of the opportunity.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, I hope people listening and watching this don't think this was like, oh, they don't like alert Like I'm literally telling. I'm sitting here telling you he is so damn close and he is so damn talented and, and I do legitimately think he has a chance to be a top 10 pick. I'm. I'm not worried about that stuff though. I'm not worried about who won qb. I'm talking about what's he going to be in the league. And I just, we just both laid out where. Here are the areas he needs to show improvement and if he does in those areas and you see it's still ascending and the arc is still getting high, like he's got a chance to be really good. Like, really good. Like Joe Flacco won a Super Bowl.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right?

[Todd McShay]

You know, so that's that. All right. Awesome job. Hey, hey, hey, hey.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

What? I. I can't wait. What is this?

[Todd McShay]

The Mendoza Line? Thursday.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You already got a thing for it. All right, great.

[Todd McShay]

The Mendoza Line, I'm telling you. Listen, I. We're not breaking news this time of year, but it's kind of breaking news on Thursday. Check back in the show like, holy smokes. And I get. I'm gonna give credit to Mensch on Thursday. I'm not gonna do it right now because it's time to go. But. But Thursday's gonna be a spell. It's gonna be a special, fun show. We'll see you then. Thanks. Must be 21 + and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18+ and present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit RG D help dot com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MD gambling help dot org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma dot org or call 1-800-327-5050. For 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 18778 hope NY or text hopeny in New York.