Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> position look at how things were shap- ing up heading into the Blue-White Game on April 13: QUARTERBACK NEWS Bothered by a foot injury last fall, Tommy Stevens was able to partici- pate in spring practice, albeit with some apparent limitations, after having sur- gery prior to the Citrus Bowl. At Holuba Hall on March 20, Stevens was dressed and was seen throwing with the wide- outs after practice, but he did not take part in live drills. In his absence, Sean Clifford was getting first-team snaps, while Will Levis was running with the second team and true freshman Ta'Quan Roberson with the third team. Whether Stevens will play in the Blue- White Game seems very much an open question. He's a fifth-year senior who knows Penn State's offense inside and out, so the coaching staff may decide not to risk playing him in a meaningless exhibition, even if he's physically ready. Also, there are four other scholarship quarterbacks on campus this spring, and if Stevens doesn't play, or sees action on only a series or two to knock some of the rust off, it will give the staff a more ex- tensive opportunity to evaluate the oth- ers under game conditions. Clifford appears to have a viable chance to win the starting spot after playing well in limited duty last season. The others – Levis, Roberson and Michael Johnson Jr., all of whom will have freshman eligibil- ity this coming fall – will be making their Beaver Stadium debuts if/when they see action on Saturday. Levis has shown he has a big-time arm, and he connected on a deep pass to Dan Chisena during the portion of the March 20 practice that media were allowed to watch. FRANKLIN SAYS "Tommy understands it's his turn now to step up. Sean feels that way, and I also don't want to ex- clude Levis, because Levis is a guy who we think is extremely talented, and he's got to step up, too. I think we're going to have really good competition at a lot of positions." ANALYSIS To date, only two players have started at quarterback for Penn State during Franklin's five-season tenure as head coach. Christian Hacken- berg started 26 games during Franklin's first two years, and Trace McSorley fol- lowed him by starting every game over the past three seasons, 40 in all. McSor- ley's durability was a nice luxury, but graduation has done what no opponent could do, and now the Lions must move on from one of the most successful quarterbacking tenures in their history. "It's a big transition," Franklin acknowl- edged. "I don't think there's any doubt about it." Stevens is the presumed frontrunner and will probably continue to hold that distinction, just by virtue of his four years of experience and his willingness to wait his turn behind McSorley – a show of faith that Franklin would love to see everyone emulate. But Clifford could make things interesting with a strong showing on Saturday. He backed up Mc- Sorley in the Lions' first four games last year, and while it was hardly ideal at the time for the Lions to go into the season without Stevens, Franklin looks back on the situation as "a blessing in disguise, because Sean was able to gain some ex- perience and did some really good things for us." RUNNING BACK NEWS With Miles Sanders off to the NFL, and backups Mark Allen and Johnathan Thomas having used up their eligibility, the Lions are inexperienced at running back and have been looking this spring for signs of potential from a number of young players. The main competitors have been Ricky Slade, Journey Brown, Noah Cain and C.J. Holmes. Only two of those players – BACKFIELD DUO Brown (left) and Slade watch practice March 20 at Holuba Hall. The two running backs are vying for the starting position this spring. Photo by Nate Bauer

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