Blue White Illustrated

F A S T F O R W A R D >> A N E A R L Y L O O K From this early vantage point, it's im- possible to know whether the Lions have the manpower to make a run at the Big Ten title. There's enough talent return- ing, particularly on defense, to make you think that this could be a special season. But there are also enough holes to make you think that another rebuilding year could be in the offing. Until the coaches start to get a feel this coming spring for how much help the young players will be able to provide, we won't know which cycle will be more influential: the exodus or the influx. In the meantime, though, we can take some educated guesses about how things might come together. Here's a position- by-position look at the Lions as they em- bark on the path to the 2019 season: QUARTERBACK KEY RETURNEES Sean Clifford, Will Levis, Tommy Stevens KEY LOSS Trace McSorley NEWCOMERS Michael Johnson Jr., Taquan Roberson OUTLOOK The situation here had seemed simple a few weeks ago: McSor- ley's record-setting career was going to end in the Citrus Bowl, and Stevens, Mc- Sorley's heir apparent since losing the battle for the starting spot in 2016, would become the overwhelming favorite in a two-man race with Clifford to become the team's starter. Maybe that's still how it will all play out. But the decision to hold Stevens out of the bowl game for health reasons has scram- bled the outlook here, at least temporarily. There's a lot that we don't know about Stevens' injury. And by a lot, we mean pretty much everything. What is it? How did it happen? How long is his recovery expected to take? Is it something that could inhibit him in the spring? What about the fall? These are major questions I s Tommy Stevens ready to become Penn State's starting quarterback? For the next seven months, we're going to have to take it on faith that he is. Ever since he lost the battle with Trace McSorley for the starting job nearly three years ago, the coaching staff has offered glowing appraisals of Stevens' readiness. They have hailed his arm and his elusiveness and his grasp of the offense. A year ago, they even gave him his own position – the "Lion" – which helped to convey his importance to the program even as the impressively durable McSorley was taking nearly all the snaps. But while he has played a bit here and there over the past three years, the main thing we know about Stevens as his final season approaches is that he leads the Nittany Lions in patience. He came to University Park a year after McSorley, watched as his older team- mate developed into one of the Big Ten's most celebrated players, and passed up the opportunity to transfer, even though he knew it was likely that he would only have one season as the team's starter. Then, just as it appeared he was set to assume a bigger role – if not as Mc- Sorley's understudy, then as an all- purpose offensive threat out of the Lion package – his patience was tested again. He missed the first four games of the 2018 season with a right foot in- jury, and he didn't play a snap in the Citrus Bowl after undergoing surgery to repair an injury that he had appar- ently been nursing since midseason. The decision to have surgery follow- ing the fall semester was meant to en- sure that Stevens will be healthy in time for spring practice. We're going to have to take that on faith, too, as coach James Franklin, in keeping with his standard practice, hasn't elaborated on how the quarterback got hurt. But the result was plain for all to see: When McSorley was knocked out of the bowl game briefly – first when he was poked in the eye, then when his foot was in- jured – he was replaced by redshirt freshman Sean Clifford. Stevens was not on hand in Orlando, having been deprived of a chance to flash some po- tential ahead of what may be his first career start next August. All of which leaves us with a couple of ways of looking at his body of work. One way is to worry that the statistical evidence to date – 506 career rushing yards, 304 career passing yards – is too skimpy to give Penn State the benefit of the doubt as it looks to make an- other run at the Big Ten title. There will be a lot riding on how well the 6- foot-5, 240-pounder from Indianapo- lis adapts to a starting role, but there's not a lot of data on which to base an assessment of his potential. The other way is to assume that all the watching and waiting that Stevens has done so far is actually going to work to his advantage. Not surpris- ingly, this is the way that his coaches THANK YOU, NEXT | EDITOR'S NOTE Newcomers listed here include only incoming freshmen. Mem- bers of Penn State's 2018 recruiting class who redshirted last season are listed among the key returnees. Penn State has bid farewell to Trace McSorley. Now it's time for his successors to show that they're ready to take the reins

• Cover