Penn State football: James Franklin compares Will Levis to Troy Aikman
Penn State football head coach James Franklin recently talked up Will Levis, with a promising player comparison.
This year, Penn State football is heading into one of the most intriguing offseasons in recent time. As they have a vacant position at quarterback, we’re anticipating a long and competitive summer battle between Junior quarterback Sean Clifford, and redshirt freshman, Will Levis. While many assume Clifford has the spot locked up, head coach James Franklin refuses to look at it that way.
No spot will ever be handed out in Happy Valley as long as Franklin is running the ship. Everything will have to be earned. This year, Franklin has a tough decision to make, regarding the general of the offense. Trace McSorley is no longer the obvious starter. Instead, Franklin has to pick another face of his era to run the offense.
Both Clifford and Levis have their strengths and weaknesses. So far, Clifford checks all boxes from leadership to passing abilities, but Franklin was concerned about his mobility. Therefore, Clifford worked on his speed during the offseason and apparently he’s made some excellent strides.
Levis, on the other hand, hasn’t shown enough to truly make an accurate assessment for what works, and what doesn’t on the game field — but Franklin definitely sees something in Levis from the practice field, and gave him quite the player comparison when discussing the freshman at the Big Ten media day in Chicago. According to Franklin, Will Levis looks like Troy Aikman.
In case you need a reminder of who Troy Aikman is — he’s a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who made it to the NFL after becoming the first overall pick in 1989 out of UCLA. In college, he was an offensive player of the year, Davey O’Brien award winner, All-American, Heisman finalist, national champion, and College Hall of Famer. In the NFL, he was a six-time Pro Bowler, three-time Super Bowl champion, and a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.
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That comparison could worry some, as it sounds overreactive by Franklin. But the Lions’ head coach surely isn’t kidding around when he’s discussing the potential of Levis. According to PA Penn Live’s Bob Flounders, Franklin has full confidence in Levis’ ability to put up a fight in camp with Sean Clifford. “Will can throw the ball, he is big, he is strong, he is explosive, smart. So we’ve got two guys that we feel really good about.”
Will the freshman passer become the next Troy Aikman? Well, we will have to wait and see. At least at this point in his career, Will Levis has plenty of time to develop and work to live up to those expectations. Even if Levis doesn’t get the starting position in 2019, there’s always next year and beyond. After all, he’s got a whole four years worth of availability ahead of him.