Penn State football’s Sean Clifford discusses Tommy Stevens transfer

Penn State football quarterback Sean Clifford wasn’t as happy as you would think when he found out Tommy Stevens transferred elsewhere.

Not too long ago, Penn State football quarterback Sean Clifford was anticipating a battle for a starting role within the offense. Although it was likely that Clifford would take a backseat to Tommy Stevens, that would soon no longer be the case.

Out of nowhere, Tommy Stevens decided to enter the transfer portal after he failed to get a verbal commitment from James Franklin stating he would be the starting quarterback in 2019. As we know, Franklin likes to keep competition alive at all times in Happy Valley.

Even if a player has started at their position for multiple years, they still have to earn their spot in practice. Apparently, that mentality didn’t go over too well with Stevens. Therefore, he up and left for Mississippi State, to join former PSU assistant, Joe Moorhead.

The sudden departure left many players confused. Former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley assumed Stevens would be the guy to take over after him, so when the news came out he was leaving, the former Lions quarterback went searching for answers. Unfortunately, he didn’t reveal anything we didn’t already know.

And as for current Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, he’s in the same boat. Clifford expected to come into his Junior season backing up Stevens — but he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. As a strong competitor, Clifford was excited to battle for the QB1 spot. On the other hand, Stevens wasn’t. He wanted his verbal guarantee, and he got it elsewhere.

Now, Clifford jumps into the spot as the consensus starter for the 2019 season, but he’s not as thrilled as you would think. Sure, Clifford and Stevens were technically opponents when it came to the depth chart, but at the same time, they were close teammates.

During a recent discussion with 247 Sports’ Mark Brennan, Clifford touched on the subject.

Clifford discusses the loss of Stevens

"“One thing people don’t realize a lot (from) when that whole thing went over — people don’t understand that Tommy and I are really close friends,” Clifford said recently. “We still are. I text him every week, checking in, seeing how he’s doing.“So people were like, ‘Oh, that opens an opportunity for you,’ ” he added. “Yes, but I’m also losing one of my best friends at my school. It was tough. He was a great leader here, too. He did a lot of great things for this program. I wish him the best, obviously. I know he’s going to kill it down at Mississippi State.”"

Putting the friendship factor aside, Clifford did find himself in a quite favorable situation. While he won’t get the same competitive battle for his position against Stevens, he will still have some pretty stiff competition against Sophomore passer, Will Levis. Again, Franklin won’t just hand over the quarterback position to anybody, but right now Clifford is favored to win QB1.

So far, Clifford has impressed his peers. He might not have the veteran experience on the field, but what he’s put on display during the offseason has been eye-opening. Plus, he’s begun to win over the locker room as he became more of a vocal leader behind the scenes. Right when the team found out Stevens was leaving Happy Valley, Clifford wasted no time stepping into the role.