Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier stayed in school for 2025. Will that help their 2026 NFL Draft status?
Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier Choose School Over NFL Draft
When a quarterback feels as though he outgrew the college game, they leave for the NFL. However, you will find those passers that actually stay another year and hit the draft the following year. LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Penn State’s Drew Allar chose to return to their respective schools.
Now, speculation exists as to why. Sports Illustrated writer Albert Breer detailed his thoughts as to why Nussmeier and Allar chose this route instead of leaving for the bright lights of Sunday football. When describing the whispers around Nussmeier, Breer wrote:
“So how does 2026 look? It’s a topic of conversation I delved into with a few team people over the past week. Before then, I had a couple of guys tell me that LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier could’ve been the first quarterback to go this year, and I had a couple of others agree. ”
Breer wrote that Nussmeier would be the first quarterback taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. Realistically, that assertion does not hold water for a myriad of reasons. First, Nussmeier lacks the tools to supplant both Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. He lacks Ward’s improvisation, timing, and touch. Similarly, he does not possess Sanders’ accuracy, progression scanning, and pacing.
Granted, Nussmeier can spin the ball. However, when the play breaks down, he will not escape the pocket or force the defense to even contain him with the rush. On top of that, Nussmeier will force the ball, as evidenced by his SEC-leading 12 interceptions. Plus, after just one year as a starter, the NFL would devour the unpolished passer.
As Breer continues, he mentioned teams trying to convince Allar to declare. This makes far more sense than Nussmeier, by mile. Breer states:
“A couple teams, I heard, actually encouraged Penn State’s Drew Allar to declare, expecting that he’d rise through the process and go in the top 10. ”
This is extremely logical. Allar overshadows his LSU in every aspect. He throws a better ball with better zip, touch, and accuracy. In addition, the PSU quarterback possesses more mobility/agility and the ability to extend plays. Hearing his name within the first ten picks this spring does not seem far-fetched at all.
Allar could easily take the NFL field this fall for a team looking for a franchise quarterback. Ten interceptions in 843 attempts give credence to Allar’s vision. You can see the tools at work against the Washington Huskies.
There is no doubt that Breer heard what he did wrong. At the same time, the period after the last bowl game until the NFL Draft informally earned a nickname: lying season.
During this stretch, teams via unnamed sources will flood the airwaves with soundbites fully intended to draw attention from some players while praising others.
The reason why remains rather simple and uncomplicated. If an organization can put the word out that a certain player, especially a quarterback, doesn’t impress them. Said player could fall in the draft to the team that started the chatter.
In this period of time, take every negative comment with enough grains of salt to give a bison hypertension.
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Garrett Nussmeier, with another year of refinement, can greatly elevate his draft stock. On the other hand, Drew Allar looks like a plug-and-play quarterback who appears NFL-ready.
No one who wants to keep his scouting management job actually believes that the LSU quarterback looks like a top-three pick right now. While an inexact science, the draft eventually rewards the smart teams while punishing the others.
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