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 that will impact just about every aspect of Penn State's upcoming season, and it's unlikely that we'll be getting any answers from Franklin, as his policy is to elaborate on injuries only when they are season- ending. This isn't that. Here's what we do know: Stevens' re- cent series of health problems began last spring when he was forced to sit out a portion of practice, including the Blue- White Game, due to a right foot injury. He also missed four games at the beginning of the 2018 season with what appeared to be an injury to the same foot. If his more recent problems (and subsequent sur- gery) stem from of the original injury, that would be concerning. The last thing Penn State wants is for its most experienced quarterback to have to deal with a nag- ging health issue, especially one that might diminish his mobility. But if it's not – and Franklin said he's hopeful that Stevens will be full-go this spring – the Lions figure to have a pretty good situation at this position. Stevens made a commitment to Penn State last spring when he passed up the opportu- nity to leave for a school where he would have had a chance to complete right away for a first-team job and potentially start for two years as a graduate transfer. Given the patience he's exhibited and the abili- ties he's flashed both as a quarterback and as an all-purpose skill player in the "Lion" package, the guess here is that he is still the favorite to start when Penn State opens its 2019 season on Aug. 31 against Idaho. But that's hardly a given. Clifford has flashed some skills of his own, complet- ing 5 of 7 passing attempts for 195 yards as a redshirt freshman, including two touchdown passes. He could easily have been 6 of 7, but De- Andre Thompkins could- n't hold onto a beautifully thrown deep ball in the Citrus Bowl. Franklin described the Cincinnati native as "one of the more competitive guys that I've been around – very com- petitive, very prideful, which early on it left sideline to DeAndre Thompkins that landed in the receiver's arms but then fell to the turf. Franklin has described the 6-2, 219- pound Clifford as "a very, very fiery competitor." That kind of approach can have its plusses and minuses. The mi- nuses became apparent last winter when Clifford punched a bench at the Lasch Building after missing a weightlifting goal, breaking his hand. "That's not what we want our quarter- back to do," Franklin said. But the plusses started to reveal themselves shortly thereafter. In last year's Blue-White Game, he completed 4 of 8 passes for 58 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown pass to Mac Hip- penhammer. Then came the regular season, and his early successes seemed to confirm Clifford's upward trajectory. Seven career passing attempts might make for an exceedingly small sample size, and most of those throws were in the fourth quarter of lopsided games against overwhelmed opponents. But Clifford has impressed the coaching staff even when he hasn't been on the field. Franklin recently recounted a minor confrontation that took place between the quarterback and a team- mate on the sideline during the Wis- consin game. "One of the guys was kind of jabbing at him, kind of poking fun, and he turned around and snapped at the guy, [telling him] I'm maximizing my role, I'm going to do everything that I can to help this team, and he was deadly seri- ous and locked in," Franklin said. "That's how he is with everything. If it's a race, he wants to win the race. If it's academics, he wants the highest GPA. It's all of it." Rahne said Clifford's competitive- ness has helped him develop quickly in the Lions' system. "If you look at the end of spring to now, he's grown probably tenfold. It's been great to watch what he's done," Rahne said. "So we're really excited about that room. We've got some great guys after Trace, and the way he's shown them how to prepare only makes them better." McSorley has seen glimpses of that potential as well. He's been watching Stevens since 2015 and knows perhaps better than anyone outside of the coaching staff what his ceiling is. All the watching? All the waiting? "I think it only benefited him and his future and the team and its future," McSorley said. "I'm really excited about just how he's going to come out of this and what he's going to become." ■ RELIEF PITCHER Clifford filled in for McSorley when the Lions' starter was briefly knocked out of the Citrus Bowl. Photo by Steve Manuel

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