Former Penn State QB Tommy Stevens drafted by New Orleans Saints in 7th round
After transferring from Penn State last spring to play for under former Nittany Lions offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State, quarterback Tommy Stevens now has a new home in the NFL.
Stevens struggled at Mississippi State, playing sporadically throughout the year.
That didn’t stop the New Orleans Saints from selecting the quarterback at No. 240 overall as a seventh round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Saturday.
The Saints traded up with the Houston Texans, giving up a 2021 sixth round pick, to acquire the pick and take Stevens.
It’s easy to see how the Saints could use the former Nittany Lion. He could fill a role similar to that of current New Orleans quarterback Taysom Hill as a versatile weapon on offense. Hill lines up at wide receiver, running back, tight end, and quarterback, while also playing special teams for the Saints. Stevens was used in a similar way near the end of his Penn State career.
The former Penn State quarterback chose to transfer from the program after Penn State head coach James Franklin announced there would be a competition for the starting quarterback spot at Penn State. Redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford ultimately won the job, beating out redshirt freshman Will Levis.
In his four years at Penn State, Stevens completed 24-of-41 passing attempts for 304 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran the ball 76 times for 506 yards and eight touchdowns.
His most notable performance as a Nittany Lion came in the 2017 regular season finale against Maryland when he completed three of his seven passing attempts for 11 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns for 12 attempts in a 66-3 win for Penn State over the Terrapins.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 6:58 PM.
