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touchdowns and just one interception. Most of his contributions to Penn State's o9ense the past three years have been as a receiver or runner operating out of the "Lion" position, or as a running quarter- back. Stevens has rushed for 506 yards on 76 carries, averaging 6.7 yards per at- tempt, with eight TDs on the ground. In addition to the bowl, Stevens missed four regular-season games last fall, meaning that Cli9ord was McSor- ley's backup for a substantial part of the year. Counting his brief performance in the Citrus Bowl, Cli9ord saw action in four games, completing 5 of 7 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. One of his two scoring passes in 2018 was a record-setting 95-yard throw to Daniel George against Kent State. "There was a transition before Trace, and I told you guys [in the media] that we had a lot of con8dence in Trace and what the future held for him," Franklin said back in December. "And I think there is still a very similar feeling with Tommy and Cli9. Those guys have done some really good things, and [Will] Levis is in there as well. "I think whenever you've had a guy start as many games as [McSorley] started, it's going to be a transition. It's going to be di9erent, there's no doubt about it. But I do think we've seen enough evidence in games and enough evidence in practice. I think there's a lot of con8dence and ex- citement for the future." For Penn State to have any hope of challenging Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State for the Big Ten East Divi- sion title in 2019, Stevens and/or Clif- ford will need to play up to their full potential. RUNNING BACK CONTENDERS Ricky Slade, Journey Brown, Noah Cain, C.J. Holmes ANALYSIS Sanders did an excellent job of replacing Saquon Barkley last season, 8nishing as Penn State's leading rusher with 1,274 yards and nine touchdown runs. With 220 carries, he was responsi- ble for 72 percent of the Lions' rushing attempts. Now Sanders is gone, which means that the only running back with any real game experience this spring is Slade. Slade played in nine games last season, rushing for 257 yards and six touchdowns on 45 carries. Brown saw very limited ac- tion in nine games, rushing for 44 yards and one TD on eight attempts. Cain, who was named by Rivals.com as the No. 3 running back in the Class of 2019, is practicing this spring, as is Holmes, who is eligible to play a:er transferring from Notre Dame last year. Those are the four contenders to replace Sanders, and they'll be joined in a few months by Devyn Ford, another four-star prospect in the Lions' latest recruiting class. Slade 8gures to get the 8rst crack at the starting spot, but given the team's im- proved depth in the back8eld, it would be unrealistic to expect him to receive 70- plus percent of the carries this fall. The Nittany Lions may lack game experience, but Brown, Cain, Holmes and Ford will all get a serious look during the o9-season. Don't be surprised if the Lions use a three-man rotation, with Slade most OFFENSE QB Tommy Stevens/Sean Cli8ord Will Levis/Michael Johnson Jr./ Ta'Quan Roberson RB Ricky Slade Noah Cain/Journey Brown/ C.J. Holmes WR Justin Shorter/Daniel George/ Cam Sullivan-Brown WR Jahan Dotson/Daniel George Mac Hippenhammer/ Cam Sullivan-Brown WR K.J. Hamler Jahan Dotson/Mac Hippenhammer TE Pat Freiermuth Nick Bowers/Jonathan Holland/ Zack Kuntz/Brenton Strange LT Will Fries Anthony Whigan/Des Holmes LG Steven Gonzalez C.J. Thorpe/Bryce E8ner C Michal Menet Juice Scruggs/Mike Miranda RG Mike Miranda/C.J. Thorpe Bryce E8ner RT Rasheed Walker/Des Holmes/ Anthony Whigan DEFENSE DE Shaka Toney/Shane Simmons/ Jayson Oweh Adisa Isaac DT Robert Windsor Antonio Shelton/Fred Hansard* DT P.J. Mustipher Damion Barber/Aeneas Hawkins/ Judge Culpepper/Ellison Jordan* DE Yetur Gross-Matos Daniel Joseph/Nick Tarburton OLB Cam Brown Charlie Katshir/Lance Dixon MLB Jan Johnson/Ellis Brooks Jesse Luketa/Brandon Smith OLB Micah Parsons Jesse Luketa/Brandon Smith CB Tariq Castro-Fields Donovan Johnson/Marquis Wilson/ Keaton Ellis FS Jonathan Sutherland/ Lamont Wade Tyler Rudolph SS Garrett Taylor John Petrishen/Tyler Rudolph CB John Reid Trent Gordon/Keaton Ellis NB Donovan Johnson/Keaton Ellis/ Trent Gordon PHIL GROSZ'S PROJECTED SPRING DEPTH CHART * Denotes injury; player's availability uncertain for spring practice

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