Penn State entered the season with several of its veteran players viewed as early-round selections in next spring’s 2026 NFL draft.

Fourth-year quarterback Drew Allar was seen as a potential first-round pick.

That was back in August.

It’s mid-November and the 3-6 Nittany Lions, losers of six consecutive games, are one of the most disappointing teams in the sport with a few weeks left.

But one Penn State player remains in the first-round conversation in the eyes of a prominent NFL draft expert.

It is not Allar, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in PSU’s 22-21 home loss to Northwestern on Nov. 11.

Fourth-year guard Vega Ioane has impressed Dane Brugler, a draft analyst for The Athletic.

The 6-4, 328-pound Ioane, a second-team All-Big selection in 2024, is Brugler’s No. 28 o

See Full Page