Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/969330
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> I t wasn't just on social media and in- ternet message boards. For months, it was one of the hot topics throughout Penn State's campus, from the Lasch Building to classrooms and dining halls. Tommy Stevens was barely able to have a meal with his girlfriend without being asked the question: Are you transfer- ring? In late March, the redshirt junior backup quarterback put all that specula- tion to rest, announcing after the team's fifth practice session of the spring that he plans on staying at Penn State. In doing so, he acknowledged that the talk concerning his future hadn't been just idle speculation. He is set to graduate in May, which means that if he were to leave, he would qualify for a postgradu- ate transfer waiver, which would allow him to play immediately at another Di- vision I school. Unlike Penn State, some of those schools will be looking for a new starting quarterback in 2018, and Stevens admits that he did explore his options. QB Stevens set to return after mulling transfer early enrollees – Tarburton, Jesse Luketa and Micah Parsons – play line- backer. One of the others – Zack Kuntz – plays tight end. Except for the place- kicker spot, those are the thinnest po- sition groups on the team. It would be an act of futility for Franklin to try to dispel curiosity about his newest play- ers. There's a lot riding on their devel- opment, and all the interested parties – coaches, teammates, fans and presum- ably the freshmen themselves – know it. Much of the curiosity has been focused on Parsons. That, too, makes sense. The Harrisburg native is one of two five-star recruits in Penn State's most recent class, and one of only four that the Nit- tany Lions have landed since the post- Paterno era began in 2012. Franklin and his staff have contributed to the sense of anticipation surrounding Parsons by praising both his potential and his attitude since arriving on cam- pus. Strength coach Dwight Galt saw those qualities firsthand this winter. "When you come up here, the stars dis- appear," he said. "So Micah came in and did a great job and the older players have been great mentors to him. Instead of being the five-star, sixth-ranked kid in the country, he became one of the guys. You would never know by the way he COMEBACK KID Stevens only attempted 27 passes last season, but he was a key part of Penn State's red zone offense, scoring six touch- downs as a soph- omore. Photo by Steve Manuel BY TIM OWEN owen.tim.bwi@gmail.com