Who will start at QB for Penn State vs. Iowa? James Franklin has yet to name starter
Penn State head coach James Franklin hasn’t yet made a decision on his team’s starting quarterback between redshirt junior Sean Clifford or redshirt sophomore Will Levis, he said Tuesday afternoon.
“Obviously, we had some conversations about it this weekend with not only the coaching staff, but also with Sean and with Will, as well, based on what we’re gonna do in practice this week,” Franklin said. “We’ll evaluate that as the week goes on, based on what we do this week, but also what we’ve done this season and what we’ve done last year.”
Levis — a 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt sophomore — subbed in for Clifford early in the second quarter of Penn State’s 30-23 loss to Nebraska last weekend. After Clifford threw an interception on the Nittany Lions’ first drive of the contest and had a fumble returned for a touchdown less than four minutes into the second quarter, Franklin decided to make the change.
Clifford in his second season as Penn State’s starting quarterback and led the team to an 11-2 record in 2019, but he’s struggled so far this year. Through three-plus games this season, Clifford has eight turnovers — six interceptions and two fumbles — to go with his 10 touchdowns (nine passing and one rushing). The 6-foot-2, 217-pound Ohio native has completed just 74 of his 130 pass attempts (56.9 completion percentage) for 896 yards and rushed for 169 yards on 58 carries.
With Levis in the contest, the Nittany Lions outscored the Cornhuskers 20-6 through almost three full quarters. The Connecticut native finished with a career-high 219 yards on 14-of-31 passing and rushed for 61 yards.
“Obviously, Will came in and did some good things and put himself in this position,” Franklin said. “And he’s earned it — no different than how Sean had earned the ability to be our starting quarterback last year and our starting quarterback to start the season.”
In his only career start — last year against Rutgers — Levis finished 8-of-14 passing for 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added 108 rushing yards in that game.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 1:23 PM.
