Penn State Expects Competition at Every Position, 'Including the Quarterback'

Can a freshman unseat Sean Clifford as Penn State's starting QB? James Franklin addresses that question.

Penn State begins the 2022 season with a fourth-year starting quarterback in Sean Clifford, but head coach James Franklin said that Clifford will get some competition this offseason.

"Sean's our returning starter," Franklin said Wednesday during his Signing Day press conference. "And there's no doubt about that. But yeah, there's competition at every position. And obviously, it's more challenging at any position to unseat a returning starter who's been doing it for a couple of years.

"But there's competition across the board across the board at every single position, and you rebuild your team every single year. And there will be competition at every single position, including the quarterback."

Penn State is in a unique position at quarterback, having probably the best room at the position as Franklin begins his ninth season. Clifford will be in his sixth year with the program, having decided to return for his extra season of eligibility, and is surrounded by three players with freshman eligibility.

Returning quarterback Christian Veilleux and true freshmen Drew Allar and Beau Pribula are on campus and going through winter workouts. Clifford has called the position "super-talented" and said he looks forward to being a mentor to all three, particularly the true freshmen, and learning from them in the process.

"For them, I think it's going to be a lot of learning to start," Clifford said before the Outback Bowl. "Where I can come in is allowing them to be sponges and just give them as much info as possible to help [offensive coordinator Mike] Yurcich grow that room, develop it and develop myself at the same time."

Franklin always reinforces the notion of competition at every position, though he also leans on veterans to guide his program. For Veilleux, Allar or Pribula to unseat a fourth-year starter and captain, they're going to have perform exceptionally well this spring and in training camp, leaving Franklin and Yurcich with little choice.

Sure, Franklin promised a competition, but here's what else he said about Clifford before the bowl game. This is something the other three quarterbacks must learn and demonstrate if they hope to unseat him.

"I think Sean does as good as any quarterback I've been around in college in terms of how to prepare, how to watch film, how he studies the game and studies defenses," Franklin said. "I think that's going to be really valuable for these two [true freshmen] quarterbacks."

One interesting side note: Franklin said that Clifford is rooming with new transfer receiver Mitchell Tinsley, who played in the nation's most prolific passing offense last season at Western Kentucky. Clifford has developed tight bonds with his past top receivers in KJ Hamler and Jahan Dotson. Getting off to a strong start there is important.

"Mitchell was very, very productive [at Western Kentucky]," Franklin said. "And because this is an older guy — we think we got some really talented young receivers as well — but this gives us an older veteran presence who's had a lot of production in that room. So I think there's going to be a lot of value for both parties there."

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