Penn State football is about a month away from opening preseason camp for the 2022 season, and the Nittany Lions will be looking to return to the Big Ten’s upper tier after a combined 11-11 record over the past two years.
Despite the records there was still reason for optimism, but a difficult schedule and a young team in some areas could mean Penn State is still a year or two away. Then again, nobody saw 2016 coming either.
Today we continue our look at each area of the team with the quarterbacks. There’s little question the starting job belongs to sixth-year veteran Sean Clifford, but three promising underclassmen — including one of the most highly touted QB recruits Penn State has ever signed — are waiting in the wings.
The Ones to Miss:
Penn State won’t, strictly speaking, miss former backup quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson, but he’s the most notable absence on the roster after transferring following the season. In a roundabout way the potential rise of Will Levis could be something for Penn State to still lament, but Levis would have to take absolutely astronomical strides this year to look the superior quarterback to Sean Clifford, no matter how Kentucky’s season goes. This room is dealing with more incoming than outgoing, and that’s perfectly fine for James Franklin and company.
The Ones to Watch:
In a lot of respects, Penn State’s season will go as Sean Clifford does. Is that entirely fair? Not really, but Clifford has the tools to make up for the Nittany Lions’ shortcomings but the occasional mistakes to get in the way of his own strengths. Penn State has a lot of things to figure out on offense, but Clifford will be part of each of those answers. Fans might be clamoring for Drew Allar, but nobody on this roster has played more football and seen more football than Clifford. A tip of the cap here as well to likely backup redshirt freshman Christian Veilleux who appears to be a bit of a mixture between Will Levis and former Nittany Lion Tommy Stevens. Penn State has had to go to its backup quarterback every year since 2018, so Veilleux — who went 15-of-24 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns in relief of Clifford against Rutgers last season — isn’t a footnote on this roster, in the least.
The New Names:
Penn State has recruited plenty of quarterbacks over the years but few have shown up on campus with the same level of hype as freshman and five-star prospect Drew Allar. Allar looked young at Penn State’s Blue White scrimmage/practice but appears to have all the tools to fill into the role James Franklin and fans see for him one day. Fellow freshman Beau Pribula also gives Penn State more depth in a room that has seen plenty of change in the past few years and even while it remains to be seen what the future may hold for him with the Nittany Lions, it’s better to have lots of young options in a quarterback room than not. Allar looks the man of the future, but he has some work to do first.
The Bottom Line:
Fans may have grown tired of seeing Sean Clifford for years on end, but when it’s all said and done there are worse things than having one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the game. Clifford has one last chance to prove that he can be “the guy” and having the same offensive coordinator for the second year in a row – for the first time in his career is the best chance yet to prove it.
Previously:
