The title is predicted by the third year’s starter Sean Clifford and led by first-year offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, this group underwent the spring practices, which came under cautious scrutiny and were accompanied by the speculation that Penn State might add another passer-by via transfer. With three more spring sessions, we did not leave Beaver Stadium on Saturday, feeling that a big leap had taken place, but increasing progress was always more realistic at this point.
Clifford and third-year student Ta’Quan Roberson received most of the work while a first-year student Christian Veilleux and run-up Freemason Stahl was also involved. Some off-season transfers – Micah Bowens in Oklahoma and Sal Levis in Kentucky – left the Nittany Lions with just three consecutive scholarships for 2021, at least as it stands now.
Clifford is a focal point for frustration last fall during a 0-5 start with his short benchmark, working with his fourth attacking coordinator in five years. During our first look at him under supervision with Yurcich, there was still much to be desired as Clifford’s deep ball was inconsistent and an untouched, off-platform throw to the end zone was intercepted by the first-year standout. Kalen King.
“There were a bunch of (missed assignments) today – a bunch of missed throws by me, misread by some guys,” Clifford said afterwards. “… I would like to say that I see the full potential (of the offense), but we are constantly installing new stuff. So I do not think I have seen the full potential. There is so much more we can grow on. ”
Growth is key here, and putting together 15 exercises with a new playmaker is something that was completely missed last spring Kirk Ciarrocca. It seems like so much of the Penn State ceiling was tied to Clifford in 2021, but what if he finally hits the sidelines due to an injury (which happened in 2019) or performance (which happened last November)?
Neither Roberson nor Veilleux has handled extensive play action since 2019, and in the case of the former, he has only been asked once to succeed during a final season against Rutgers.
Roberson threw some nice balls on Saturday – nothing better than a 20-back-shoulder touch Daniel George and Franklin, followed by declaring this spring, included a number of “wow” throws from native New Jersey of 5 feet 11, 196 pounds. But his afternoon was affected by some shaky moments, including an ugly Pick-Six lobbied at King (yes, he again), a lost whisper at the mesh tip with running back Devyn Ford, and an illegal capital punishment.
Veilleux certainly looks the part at 6-4, although he is relatively sluggish with £ 204, and he avoided disaster during his earliest shots in front of a crowd in Penn State, while having the ability to start the ball off the field. It was a small sample size, but considering he did not achieve a high school season due to COVID, it was his first time playing in front of an audience like this (7,500 participants are about 100,000 ashamed of what we were used to seeing in the Beaver Stadium, but they still increased the pressure), Veilleux looked pretty comfortable.
Within an hour of the investigation, I asked the Penn State head coach James Franklin if the staff at this stage feel comfortable with a QB2 option. He was not prepared to go that far.
“If you have guys who do not have notable games, it’s hard to say you feel that way because you never know before guys get in there,” Franklin said. “And that’s why I think it was important for us today to be in Beaver Stadium, because it’s different. It’s different than being there on the practice fields. So we will try to do it again next Friday night. ‘
The possibility of adding a transfer player to the competition should not be discounted, as back-to-back players in university football assess their situation after the spring practice. Franklin also trusts that his flashy move to appoint Yurcich (and fire Ciarrocca after one campaign) will bear fruit.
“We have a little work to do there, but we feel really good about our guys, and we feel really good about the guy coaching them,” Franklin said.