Penn State Football: position battles still up for grabs following spring practice

(Backup) Quarterback

For a variety of reasons, the quarterback position – specifically the backups – has been one of the position groups that has warranted the most attention from Penn State Football fans this offseason, and that will continue to be the case throughout the next three months.

We saw last season just how important the backup quarterback truly is, which is part of what makes this such a key competition for the Nittany Lions.

At this moment, Christian Veilleux is soundly in the backup role, and it is his job to lose (as it should be).

In his two appearances last year, not only did he look good in terms of his physical tools, but more importantly, he looked confident, poised, and comfortable running the offense – specifically when he was thrown into the fire against Rutgers. Sure, it was only Rutgers, but it was also his first collegiate appearance and his first game action in nearly two years, making it an impressive performance, regardless of opponent.

By this point, everyone is familiar with the two other freshman phenoms in the quarterback room, Drew Allar and Beau Pribula.

We learned from spring practice that the two still have a long way to go before they are ready to take the field in a Big Ten game, which was to be expected. After all, the two were still technically high schoolers at the time.

Aside from that, there is a reason that Allar and Pribula have generated so much hype, and it’s because their talent and potential is sky-high. Expect them to continue to improve with each and every rep they get, but it is still unlikely that either of them are able to surpass Christian Veilleux before the season kicks off.

Regardless, keep an eye on the two true freshmen, perhaps one of them can truly push Veilleux down the stretch-run of fall camp, forcing the staff to make the difficult decision of who to turn to, in the event Sean Clifford suffers an injury.

Speaking of Clifford, there is almost no chance that anyone starts over him to begin the season (as much as many of you might not like to hear that), but like the freshmen closing in on Veilleux for the backup role, is Veilleux able to narrow the margin between himself and Sean Clifford?

If so, the sixth-year signal caller could be on a short leash, and Veilleux could get his opportunity to take over the starting role at some point throughout the season.

So, keep an eye on the entire quarterback room throughout the summer and into fall camp, as if you weren’t going to do that anyway.