Steelers Now
In a recent interview with Eric Williams of FOX Sports, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar peeled back the curtain on the learning process of dropping back from under center. It’s something that’s new to Allar, as Penn State never had him dropback under center.
“It’s really just taking it a day at a time,” Allar told Williams. “They do a great job of building it out throughout practice with the quarterback in individual drills. They do a great job of emphasizing things throughout each day, just so I can get that foundation, because the footwork is a little different than what I’m used to.
“We were under center a little bit at Penn State, but not in the drop-back game. It was more run game and play-action game. So, just getting cleaner with under-center drops and drop-back footwork. And just really trying to pick up on the nuances of it. Just some different teaching, and it’s really cool to be a part of that. And kind of have another chapter to learn from and grow from. I already feel a lot more comfortable in it, and I know I’ve just got to keep my head down and keep working at it.”
Last month, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger expressed major concerns with the rookie QB out of Penn State based of how he looked dropped back under center at rookie minicamp.
“When I’m watching him do three-step drops, that makes me incredibly nervous,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “You might say, ‘Why? You’re refining things.’ There’s a difference in refining things and teaching. When we did football camps, the first thing you’re teaching the youngest kids is how to do a three-step drop. …
“Maybe they’re working on the three-step drop to be more efficient. But it looked to me like it was baby steps, teaching. … I could be completely wrong. All I’m saying is that it makes me a little nervous to watch it and be like, ‘They’re working on a three-step drop?’”
A clip of Allar going through a three-step drop went viral on social media at rookie minicamp.
The drill was meant to be completely exaggerated, slow, etc, however. Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy is building Allar from the base up. The Steelers are throwing everything out that Allar learned at Penn State.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Drew Allar Opens Up on Learning Curve of Dropping Back Under Center: ‘Just Some Different Teaching’
