James Franklin reveals Penn State football hasn’t discussed QB situation yet
After some speculation that a decision could happen as early as Tuesday, Penn State football head coach James Franklin won’t reveal a starting QB yet.
In under two weeks, Penn State football will get their 2019 season started against Idaho. Over the last few years, the Nittany Lions haven’t had to do too much worrying about who their starting quarterback was going to be with Trace McSorley at the helm. But this year is different.
Not only is McSorley gone — but so is his supposed replacement, Tommy Stevens. Now, the Lions have been hosting an intense quarterback battle between two young prospects over the last few weeks. The most qualified candidate in the mix is redshirt Sophomore, Sean Clifford.
The younger prospect happens to be freshman quarterback, Will Levis. While one has a few more NCAA passing reps than the other, these two quarterbacks are not too far off from each other. And even though Sean Clifford is assumed to be the starter, nobody ruled Will Levis out of the battle, including Lions’ head coach, James Franklin.
As we’re a few weeks into summer practice sessions, the Nittany Lions haven’t jumped on the trend of naming their starting quarterback for August 31st. There was some speculation early on Tuesday morning that the announcement could come during Franklin’s final press conference coming from training camp in Happy Valley — but it didn’t.
Franklin discusses the QB position
“We haven’t even talked about it, honestly,” Franklin told a handful of reporters on Tuesday night. “Swear to god we haven’t even discussed it at this point.” Earlier in the month, Franklin and offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne mentioned that they needed to be at least ninety percent sure before they could officially make the call.
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At this point, it has become obvious that they aren’t there yet. While they won’t officially name the starter, it is necessary to mention that Clifford has led the quarterback’s room in first-team reps. However, Levis hasn’t been running solely with the backups. As Franklin mentioned to The Athletic’s Audrey Snyder, Levis needs snaps with the starters in order for the battle to be fair.