Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S TAT E F O O T B A L L >> S P R I N G P R A C T I C E W R A P fensive line that was facing the first- team defense. Cain finished with 58 yards of total offense, 11 more than Slade, Brown and sophomore C.J. Holmes combined. If you're looking for an indication of how Penn State's offense is going to fare in 2019, you might be better off with a stack of tarot cards than with a tape of the Blue-White Game. But if nothing else, the scrimmage did offer hints that the team's more experienced running backs are not head-and-shoulders above the new kid. And the backfield will get even younger and more con- gested when another freshman, Devyn Ford, arrives this summer. Considering how many young players will be thrust into key roles in the back- field, at wideout and at quarterback, it's not unreasonable to think that Penn State will need time to jell. But another way of looking at the team's lack of experience is to note that almost everyone will be eligible to return in 2020. Of the 11 players who started on offense for the Blue in the spring game, all but one – left guard Steven Gonzalez – could still be on the roster next year. All but three will still be eligible in 2021. On defense, the Lions won't have quite as much carryover in 2020, with Robert Windsor, Cam Brown, Jan Johnson, John Reid and Garrett Taylor all entering their final year of eligibility this fall and Yetur Gross-Matos looking like a strong can- didate to leave early for the NFL Draft. But Micah Parsons will be back for his junior season, and he'll be joined by an influx of difference-makers from the Lions' most recent recruiting classes, players such as Ellis Brooks, Jesse Luketa, Lance Dixon and Brandon Smith at linebacker, Jayson Oweh and Adisa Isaac at defensive end, and Jonathan Sutherland, Keaton Ellis and Marquis Wilson in the secondary. Had Stevens stuck around and stayed healthy, he would have lifted the Nittany Lions' outlook this fall. Even if you sus- pect that McSorley won the battle for the starting spot in 2016 more decisively than Franklin has let on, it's tough to lose a fifth-year senior who's spent the past three years getting reps in your of- fense. But Stevens would have been a one- year starter. At this time a year from now, the Lions would be prepping their third starting quarterback in as many seasons. The questions that they're fac- ing this summer are questions they would be facing all over again in 2020 with another new quarterback set to take the reins. The way things have played out, though, Clifford will have a chance to establish himself alongside the team's other young players. There may be some bumps along the way, as this year's starting offense could end up featuring as many as eight players with either freshman or sophomore eligibility. But what if the payoff is a team that's much better prepared to contend for the Big Ten title and maybe even the College Football Playoff in 2020 and '21? Would that be worth the wait? ■ Sean Cli

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