Tuesday’s “First Call” looks at Art Rooney II’s comments about the Makai Lemon fumble on draft night. One of Penn State’s coaches is backing the draft choice of Drew Allar by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A receiving target of Aaron Rodgers is heading to Dallas. A Duquesne men’s basketball player is heading to South Carolina, and a former Duquesne women’s basketball star is going back to West Virginia.

A different spin

The Steelers are rolling the dice on Drew Allar’s talent. They are hoping his promising skillset can be honed despite a college career that ended before he could put all of the pieces together often enough to give Penn State the big-game success Nittany Lions fans were hoping to see.

The Steelers chose the PSU quarterback in the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday. Nittany Lions associate head coach Terry Smith told 93.7 The Fan on Monday that Allar’s best days are ahead.

“I think he will be a better pro than a college player,” Smith said on 93.7 The Fan.

“The guy is going to lead the locker room. He’s going to lead by example. He’s not a me guy. He’s not a social media guy. He’s going to grab his lunch pail and come to work every day and give the best that he has every single day.”

Smith stayed on as associate head coach after Matt Campbell replaced James Franklin as head coach. The former Gateway coach thinks the PSU’s offense failed Allar to a degree last year.

“I think, unfairly to Drew, our system wasn’t built for him. It wasn’t made for him. Some of the decisions were taken out of his control,” Smith told Bob Pompeani and TribLive’s Joe Starkey.

Allar threw for 1,100 yards, eight touchdowns, three interceptions and completed 64.8% of his passes before a season-ending ankle injury ended his 2025 campaign after just six games.

Nothing to see here

Steelers president Art Rooney II was on Steelers Nation Radio during the final day of the draft. He was asked about the Philadelphia Eagles swooping in to steal Makai Lemon while the USC receiver was on the phone with the Steelers, ready to be picked by Pittsburgh.

Once that occurred, the Steelers pivoted and took Arizona State tackle Max Iheanachor.

“It happens,” Rooney said. “I can’t tell you how many times that you’re ready to make a pick and the team in front of you takes a guy, so it happens all the time in every draft. You go into every pick with a short list of more than one guy, so it wasn’t anything unusual in terms of the way drafts unfold, and we’re happy to have Max.”

Rooney went so far as to suggest the end result was a blessing in disguise.

“(Iheanachor) certainly was high on our list, and a great addition to the line,” Rooney said. “To be honest with you, if you would’ve asked me before the draft, ‘What position do you think you’ll take in this draft?’ I would’ve told you offensive line. So, it kinda worked out.”

Nick Harris of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on Friday that he heard the Steelers were upset about Dallas dealing the 20th pick to Philadelphia so the Eagles could make the move.

It has been suggested that Jerry Jones gave a green light to the trade as a jab at former Dallas coach Mike McCarthy, who is in his first year coaching the Steelers.

Jones refuted that implication after the draft, claiming he wasn’t trying to get on Pittsburgh’s “bad side.”

MVS in DAL

If Aaron Rodgers does come back to the Steelers, he won’t have one of last year’s targets with him on offense.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling has signed with the Dallas Cowboys. That’s according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

Valdes-Scantling joined the Steelers on Nov. 4. He was promoted to the active roster Dec. 15 in advance of a Monday night game against Miami. He scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass in that 28-15 win. The University of South Florida product finished 2025 with 14 receptions for 120 yards and one touchdown.

MVS spent his first three years in Green Bay with Rodgers. His new contract with the Cowboys is reportedly a one-year deal.

‘Take me home’

Former Duquesne women’s basketball standout Alexis Bordas is heading back home to West Virginia.

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The Wheeling Park alum is transferring to West Virginia University after a notable freshman season with the Dukes.

The 5-foot-8 guard made 90 three-pointers and averaged 15.2 points per game. Her season high of 38 points came against Pitt in the city game.

Bordas was a member of the Atlantic-10 All-Freshman team. She was a conference Rookie of the Week honoree four times.

On the men’s side, ex-Duquesne forward Jakub Necas is transferring to South Carolina according to On3sports. He averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game with the Dukes in 2025-26.