Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1138762
2 0 1 9 S E A S O N P R E V I E W the receiver corps, McSorley le= as the program's all-time leader in total of- fense (11,596 yards), passing yards (9,899), passing touchdowns (77), rushing yards by a quarterback (1,697) and rushing TDs by a quarterback (30), among other records. NUMBERS GAME Of the four scholar- ship quarterbacks on Penn State's ros- ter, Cli;ord is the only one to have ever played in a collegiate game (excluding the Blue-White Game). A year ago, the 6-foot-2, 218-pounder from Cincin- nati saw action in four games, com- pleting 5 of 7 attempts for 195 yards, with two touchdowns and no intercep- tions. OUTLOOK When Stevens decided to explore his transfer options, his goal was to :nd a school where he would have an extremely high probability of starting, thus allowing him to use his only remaining season of eligibility as a potential springboard to the NFL. It was an unexpected move, given that he appeared to have an extremely high probability of starting at Penn State. But what if his odds weren't as good as they looked from the outside? What if Cli;ord really was pushing him for the starting spot? James Franklin had said going into spring practice that Stevens was the team's No. 1 quarterback, followed by Cli;ord and Levis. Franklin's depth chart may have been written in pencil rather than ink, but Stevens' name was at the top of it, and understandably so; he had reportedly given McSorley a real battle for the starting spot in 2016 and had spent the past three years as his backup. But spring practice didn't do much to reaffirm Stevens' status. He was held out of some drills as a precau- tionary measure following off-season surgery to deal with an unspecified in- jury and didn't play in the Blue-White Game. His absence gave Clifford and Levis a chance to get more reps with the first-team offense than they would have gotten otherwise, and the coaches apparently liked what they saw. So, is Cli;ord ready to take charge? At this point, with the season still more than a month away, it's impossible to know. He throws a good deep ball and has shown the leadership potential you expect to see from a starting quarter- back. But beyond that, there's not much to say just yet. A recent ranking by Athlon Sports of the Big Ten's 14 projected starting quarterbacks put Cli;ord 10th. That sounds ominous, but the reason for the low ranking was that he simply doesn't yet have a body of work to evaluate. Aside from Illinois, where incoming freshman Isaiah Williams may end up running the o;ense, no team in the conference has a less-experienced starter than Penn State. And the others? Evaluating that group is an even more speculative en- deavor than trying to size up Cli;ord. Levis has a big arm, which he displayed in the Blue-White Game, connecting with Dan Chisena for a 59-yard touch- down. But he's yet to see action in a game that counts, and both Johnson and Roberson are January enrollees who will almost certainly redshirt this fall, barring an injury to either Cli;ord or Levis. One plus for Penn State is that the schedule ramps up in a way that ap- pears conducive to quarterback devel- opment. There are no big intersectional games on the nonconference slate as there are in the years to come, nor do the Lions open with an elite Big Ten opponent as they are set to do in 2021 when they start the season at Wiscon- sin. Instead, they've got games against Idaho, Bu;alo and Pitt, all at home. A=er that come Big Ten games vs. Maryland and Purdue. By the time Penn State faces East Division heavy- weights Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, their starter will have sub- stantial experience under his belt. And maybe he won't be looked upon as the Big Ten's 10th-best quarterback by anyone. –M.H. P H I L G R O S Z ' S T A K E Coming out of spring practice, it appeared that Penn State was set at the QB position even with Trace McSorley having moved on to the NFL. Tommy Stevens had three years of experience practicing in the Nittany Lions' of- fense, and both Sean Cli;ord and Will Levis had enjoyed exceptional spring practice sessions. That changed three days a=er spring practice concluded when Stevens entered the transfer portal and eventually enrolled at Missis- sippi State. With Stevens' departure, Cli;ord and Levis will compete for the starting QB job in a situation very similar to the battle between McSorley and Stevens before the 2016 season. Cli;ord will be the only QB on Penn State's roster this fall with any game experience. He had been expected to challenge Stevens for the starting job in August, and it now appears that he is a strong favorite for the position. But don't overlook Levis. Reports coming out of spring practice had Levis making the biggest gains during those o;-season drills. January enrollees Ta'Quan Roberson and Michael Johnson Jr. should compete for the third-team job during preseason practice. QUARTERBACK NO NAME HT WT YEAR 14 Sean Cli4ord 6-2 218 Jr./So. 7 Will Levis 6-3 234 So./Fr. 13 Michael Johnson Jr. 6-2 205 Fr./Fr. 9 Ta'Quan Roberson 5-11 190 Fr./Fr. 15 Michael Shuster 6-2 210 Sr./Jr. OR OR