What Penn State football’s quarterback change means for the future of the position
Penn State made it official Saturday afternoon. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Will Levis started for the Nittany Lions over redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford against Iowa.
Levis took over for Clifford in the second quarter of last week’s 30-23 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers after Clifford turned the ball over twice in the early portion of the game and struggled as a passer through the first three full games of the season.
Let’s take a look at what the change means for the Nittany Lions moving forward.
What it means for the rest of the season
The change to Levis signals a pivot to the future for the remainder of the season. Clifford was a good quarterback last season and showed promise in his first year as a starter. He had his fair share of issues but there was reason to believe he could further develop and turn into a quarterback capable of leading a team into the College Football Playoff.
His footwork and accuracy issues were solvable with proper coaching and adjustments in the offseason. The addition of offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca and his past work with quarterbacks gave fans a reason for hope with Clifford but his development never came together for a myriad of reasons, including the shortened offseason.
Now that the future is no longer solely in Clifford’s hands, Franklin and CIarrocca can see what they have in the rest of the room to determine what they need to do in the future. Levis will have the first opportunity to prove he has what it takes to lead the Nittany Lions, but he shouldn’t be the only quarterback to have the opportunity to do it.
If Levis can’t prove he has what it takes to be the team’s offensive leader, Franklin and Ciarrocca will have the opportunity to see what they have in redshirt freshman Ta’Quan Roberson. The team shouldn’t be tethered to Levis like it was Clifford, who entered the season as the incumbent starter and one of the team’s leaders. It should be much easier to move away from a player who didn’t have a large role entering the season than it was to move away from Clifford.
What it means for the future
Clifford’s benching means the Nittany Lions now face uncertainty at quarterback moving forward. Levis and Roberson should have an opportunity to prove they have what it takes to lead the team.
Levis is a strong-armed quarterback with excellent mobility and the power of a bruising running back when he takes off. The redshirt sophomore struggles with accuracy but also struggles to take velocity off his passes. He can throw a ball as far as he needs to, but when it comes to hitting intermediate and short routes, he struggles. He can’t throw those passes at full strength in order to give his receivers the best chance to catch the ball. Quarterbacks need to know when throwing a bullet pass isn’t necessary and potentially detrimental. Until he makes that adjustment — along with improvements in his general accuracy — it’s hard to see him as the quarterback of the future.
Roberson is the greatest unknown of the quarterbacks who have been on campus for at least a year. He spent his high school career as an accurate passer who could put touch on intermediate and short throws but doesn’t necessarily have the arm strength to beat teams over the top consistently. He’s also not on Levis’ level as a runner and unlikely to be an impact player from that perspective. While Levis has the upside if he can fix his issues, Roberson is likely the safer option, based strictly on his high school tape.
If neither of those players are the answer, Penn State will need to search elsewhere for its starter next year. It’s unlikely true freshman Micah Bowens is ready after only a year, given his accuracy struggles in high school. Incoming freshman Christian Veilleux has the arm talent to succeed at the college level but is far away from being ready to start for Penn State.
That leaves the Nittany Lions searching the ever-popular transfer portal for their next starting quarterback. Given the success recent portal-bound quarterbacks have had — namely Joe Burrow winning the national title and Justin Fields leading Ohio State to a top-5 ranking and playoff appearance — that might be Penn State’s best bet as they attempt to rebound with a double-digit win season next year.
