>>
KEY PERSONNEL Micah Bowens, Sean
Cli>ord*, Will Levis*, Ta'Quan Roberson
LOSS Michael Johnson Jr.
RISING STAR Roberson only saw action
in one game as a true freshman – the
regular-season ensive
Player of the Year award last season.
With Johnson gone and Bowens having
only recently arrived on campus, Rober-
son will go into the season as the Nittany
Lions' third-team quarterback behind
Cli>ord and Levis.
BIGGEST
LOSS
The only loss here was
Johnson, a three-star recruit in the Class
of 2019 who entered the transfer portal
in June. The Eugene, Ore., resident
didn't see any game action in his only
season in University Park.
NUMBERS GAME Penn State led the Big
Ten in passing in 2017 with an average of
290.2 yards per game, but its aerial at-
tack has declined in the two seasons
since. The Lions ensive coordinator Kirk
Ciarrocca, as well as receivers coach
Taylor Stubbleensive line
coach Phil Trautwein, the Nittany Lions
have enough on their plate. A global
pandemic abruptly halting team activi-
ties, canceling spring practice in its en-
tirety, and forcing a three-month hiatus
in isolation didn't help, either.
But Penn State is welcoming Cli>ord
back for his fourth year in the program,
third year seeing action, and second as
the Nittany Lions' starting quarterback.
Given his experience, the sta> isn't look-
ing for major changes. Rather, coming o>
an honorable mention All-Big Ten per-
formance in his ord already has a ord's
debut was pristine. His performances
against Maryland, Michigan, Michigan
State and even Minnesota stood out, but
there were also lackluster showings vs.
Pitt and Iowa and an injury-shortened
a@ernoon at Ohio State. Playing through
an injury in the Cotton Bowl, Cli>ord
completed only 11 of 20 passes for 133
yards, with one touchdown and one in-
terception.
When asked to assess the areas in which
Cli>ord might make the most progress
this o>-season, Franklin touched on the
potential for growth in a variety of areas.
"You would like to see him throw for a lit-
tle bit higher percentage, a little bit better
touchdown-to-interception ratio,"
Franklin said. "The work in the weight
room is something to allow him to be a
little more durable from a strength, from
a size, from a =exibility standpoint."
During the spring and early summer,
Cli>ord focused on his leadership skills
and physical intangibles, including his
accuracy. His 59.2 percent completion
rate last season ranked 75th nationally.
The only Big Ten starters with lower
completion percentages were Michigan's
Shea Patterson, Northwestern's Aiden
Smith and Maryland's Josh Jackson.
Ciarrocca has worked with Cli>ord to
sharpen his technique based on di>erent
drops out of the shotgun. "One-step, one
in a shu?e, three-step, ord explained. "So
[we're] just honing in on my footwork,
making sure that that's on point. And one
thing that we talked about is that with
footwork and a good, solid platform will
come better accuracy. I think that better
footwork, a better platform, being able to
drive the ball o> of my last step, o> of the
hitch step – that's going to pay dividends.
… That's where I'm trying to take the
next step." –NATE BAUER
P H I L G R O S Z ' S T A K E
If Sean Cli>ord can remain healthy for the entire 2020 season, Penn State has
a chance to challenge Ohio State for the Big Ten East Division title and possibly
qualify for the College Football Playo>. Through the ord was completing 64.5 percent of his passes and was leading the Big
Ten with an average of just over 280 yards of total o>ense per game. But during
the second half of the season, he battled injuries that made him less e>ective as
a dual-threat QB. He ended up having a solid season, completing 59.2 percent
of his passes for 2,654 yards, with 23 touchdown passes and seven intercep-
tions. Under the guidance of new o>ensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, Cli>ord
should be able to reach his full potential. Redshirt sophomore Will Levis is a
solid backup who is capable of running Ciarrocca's o>ense. Redshirt freshman
Ta'Quan Roberson and true freshman Micah Bowens will compete for the third
QB spot now that Michael Johnson Jr. has entered the transfer portal.
■
SPOTLIGHT QUARTERBACKS
* Starting experience in 2019
QUARTERBACK
NO NAME HT WT YEAR
14
Sean Cli.ord 6-2 218 Sr./Jr.
7 Will Levis 6-3 230 Jr./So.
9 Ta'Quan Roberson 5-11 197 So./Fr.
2 Micah Bowens 5-11 198 Fr./Fr.
