Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who is nearly six weeks out from having season-ending surgery on his broken left ankle, told ESPN he's amid a "full recovery" and gearing up for the NFL predraft process.
Allar entered the season as one of the country's most promising quarterbacks, as he had flirted with going to the NFL after leading Penn State to the semifinals of last season's College Football Playoff.
His 2025 season ended abruptly, breaking his left ankle on a scramble in the fourth quarter in a loss to Northwestern. Allar's season was immediately over, and Penn State fired James Franklin the following day.
As he moves on to declare for the NFL draft in the upcoming weeks, Allar said he's ahead of schedule on his recovery and confident he'll return to full health.
"I'm going to be a better version of myself out of this," he said. "The doctors said it's going to be stronger than before because of the type of surgery they did. It won't prohibit me from anything in the future or need to get it redone. A lot of guys have done it and come back.
"I'll be able to make a full recovery and not have anything to think about when I come back."
Allar said he's unsure about the specifics of his timeline to come back to the field to showcase himself for NFL teams. He said he hopes to throw for scouts and teams in some capacity at either the NFL scouting combine or a pro day after that date. Quarterbacks rarely do drills and testing at the combine.
Allar told ESPN that he briefly explored opportunities to secure an extra year via medical redshirt, but those were short conversations as he played too many games. There didn't appear to be any redshirt options available from a medical standpoint, nor was there a possibility of the NCAA passing new legislation that allows all players to play five seasons.
Allar said he quickly shifted his focus forward.
"I've played a lot of high-level football," he said. "I have a lot of film to speak for myself. The best option for me is to move on to the next level."
Allar finishes his career as Penn State's all-time leader in completion percentage among full-time starters at 63.2%. He's third all time in touchdown passes (61) and fourth in yards (7,402). He said he's still processing how things came to an end.
"It's surreal," Allar said. "It doesn't feel real to some extent. When everything happened with me, I was expecting coach to be here the rest of the way. He was with me the night that everything happened in hospital after the game. Since then, we've been trying to make the most of it, as much as we all wanted it to play out a different way."
Allar said he looks back wishing Penn State could have closed games better and he could have "made one or two more plays to put ourselves in a better position."
He hopes to learn from it.
"I think it's how I've always looked at things," he said. "Everything works out the way it's supposed to. As much as this injury was not in my future plans, maybe it's the best thing to happen to me -- given me space and time to reflect and see the whole picture."
Allar said the onus is on him to develop from here.
"It's going to be on me to make the most of whatever opportunity is put in front of me," he said. "I have no idea [where I'll get picked], but whatever happens, happens."