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pressive. In this business, you try to get to know rising stars, superstars in this profession. That's what you try to do, and networking is a big part of it. I think there's a mutual respect there, and the most important thing with that rela- tionship is, we see things eye to eye. There's a parallel vision as far as offen- sive philosophy goes." They're going to pursue that vision to- gether in 2021. When a coaching change at Texas left him at loose ends, Yurcich joined Franklin's staff in January, opting for a return to Pennsylvania after help- ing the Longhorns rank seventh in the Football Bowl Subdivision with an aver- age of 42.7 points per game last year. This coming fall, he'll be overseeing an offense that averaged 430.3 yards and 29.8 points per game in its lone season under Kirk Ciarrocca, ranking second in the Big Ten in the former category and third in the latter. He'll also be inherit- ing a third-year starter at quarterback in Sean Clifford. But the Nittany Lions' QB room has gotten a lot less crowded in recent weeks, as Clifford's backup the past two seasons, Will Levis, entered the transfer portal in January, as did true freshman Micah Bowens. Unless the Lions bring in a transfer, they will go into the season with only two scholarship quarterbacks behind Clifford: redshirt sophomore Ta'Quan Roberson, who has appeared in only two games to date, and true fresh- man Christian Veilleux. Clifford and Roberson will be playing for their third offensive coordinator in as many years when they take the field this fall. At an introductory news conference, conducted via Zoom on Feb. 2, Yurcich declined to talk about the personnel he had inherited, saying he wanted a chance to watch the quarterbacks in spring practice before making a public assessment of how they fit into his of- fense. But he was happy to discuss his philosophical approach. In broad terms, Yurich's top three pri- orities are comparable to those of al- ERIC WILSON Penn State added its >@h transfer of the o?-season when o?ensive lineman Eric Wilson an- nounced on Jan. 27 that he was plan- ning to join the Nittany Lions a@er playing three seasons at Harvard. Checking in at 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, Wilson enrolled at Harvard in 2017. He made a limited impact his >rst season, seeing action in only two games, but he followed up as a sopho- more by playing in all 10 games. He didn't miss a game in 2019 either, earning second-team All-Ivy League honors. Wilson chose the Nittany Lions over Auburn, Florida State and SMU. He had been committed to play for Auburn but decided not to sign a@er Gus Malzahn was >red. LSU was an- other school that he considered, but the Tigers weren't able to add him due to scholarship limitations. MICAH BOWENS A former three-star recruit from Las Vegas, Bowens en- tered the transfer portal on Jan. 15 a@er just one year at Penn State. He didn't see any game action in his lone season with the Nittany Lions. Four days a@er announcing his de- parparture, Bowens resurfaced at Oklahoma. LANCE DIXON Penn State's linebacker corps took a hit Jan. 28 with the an- nouncement that Dixon had entered the transfer portal. A four-star prospect in the Class of 2019, Dixon played sparingly his >rst season, seeing action in just three games and preserv- ing his freshman eligibility. This past season, he played in all nine games for the Nittany Lions, totaling 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. According to Pro Football Focus, Dixon played 75 snaps combined against Indiana and Ohio State, only to play 17 snaps total in the next two games. As the season went on, his playing time diminished. Dixon >n- ished the year with a 54.4 overall de- fensive rating from Pro Football Focus, the lowest of any linebacker who con- sistently contributed. T.J. JONES The redshirt freshman wide receiver entered the transfer por- tal on Jan. 22 a@er playing sparingly in 2020. Jones was targeted just twice in seven games this past season, >nishing without a catch. WILL LEVIS Penn State's second-team quarterback the past two seasons, Levis made a surprise move on Jan. 28 when he announced that he was enter- ing the transfer portal. A member of the Class of 2018, Levis redshirted his >rst season on campus but made signi>cant contributions in 2019, including one start against Rut- gers with Sean Cli?ord injured. He also got the opportunity to start this past season against Iowa, completing 13 of 16 passes for 106 yards and adding 34 yards rushing. However, even a@er Cli?ord's tough start to the season, Levis was eventu- ally pulled, and Cli?ord >nished the year as the team's starter. For his ca- reer, Levis passed for 644 yards while rushing for another 473. He threw three touchdown passes and two inter- ceptions while also rushing for six TDs. The loss of Levis and Bowens le@ Penn State with only three scholarship quarterbacks on its roster as of mid- February. In addition to Cli?ord, the Lions return Ta'Quan Roberson and welcomed true freshman Christian Veilleux in January. ■ P E N N S T A T E P E R S O N N E L T R A C K E R A R R I V A L D E P A R T U R E S

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