Penn State Football 2019 Early Position Preview: Quarterback

Penn State will enter 2019 with a new starter at quarterback 

For the first time in the past three seasons, Penn State will have a new signal-caller leading the offense. The graduation of Trace McSorley, the starter the past three seasons, automatically meant that the Nittany Lions would be led by someone else. While that’s not a surprise, who that leader could be is somewhat surprising.

Tommy Stevens has waited in the wings behind McSorley and appeared in line to finally be Penn State’s starter in his final season. However, he suffered an injury late last season and was a limited participant in practice this spring.

With Stevens’ health up in the air, and the emergence of Sean Clifford during spring practice, head coach James Franklin wasn’t willing to commit to naming Stevens the starter this spring. Although Stevens hasn’t left yet, he’s in the NCAA Transfer Portal and is presumably going to leave Penn State in the near future.

If and when Stevens leaves, Clifford will be instantly bumped up to the starter. He has a lot of upside and looked impressive during spring practice and the annual Blue-White Game. He saw limited action during the season last year, but made the most of it, completing five passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

He also set the Penn State record for the longest touchdown pass with a 95-yard strike to Daniel George against Kent State.

Bumping up to the backup position behind Clifford this year will now be redshirt freshman Will Levis. He too has promise, and was rated by 247Sports as a three-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting class.

True freshmen Ta’Quan Roberson and Michael Johnson Jr. will both be in the mix to be listed as the official third quarterback Both players are talented, but likely won’t pass Levis on the depth chart for the backup position.

There’s no doubt that Penn State’s depth chart will appear different in 2019, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although McSorley will be missed, and seeing Stevens go is sad, the Nittany Lions appear to be in good hands moving forward.