In the Transfer Portal Era, Penn State Still Wants to Recruit and Develop Quarterbacks

'There's still a lot of value in having patience in developing that position,' James Franklin says.

Quarterbacks dominate the NCAA Transfer Portal, as players look for quick changes and coaches look for quick fixes. Penn State, however, wants to rely on the recruit-and-develop model that has dominated college football for decades.

At least, that's what the coaches say now.

"That's what we prefer," Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich said. "Is it perfect? No. Will it change? Probably, maybe, I don't know. But we know ideally, in a perfect world, we want to recruit all of our kids from high school and develop them here."

The transfer portal has given quarterbacks even more dominion over college football. More than 20 FBS quarterbacks transferred since last season, including some of the game's biggest names. Caleb Williams moved from Oklahoma to USC, Quinn Ewers transferred from Ohio State to Texas and Spencer Rattler left Oklahoma for South Carolina.

Seven quarterbacks who were four-star prospects or better, according to On3, transferred. Penn State could see at least two transfer quarterbacks in Indiana's Connor Bazelak (formerly of Missouri) and Auburn's Zach Calzada (Texas A&M).

Meanwhile, Penn State will field four home-grown quarterbacks, led by sixth-year senior Sean Clifford. The Lions' quarterback situation is much healthier this year with the addition of freshmen Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, so the program didn't need to test the market.

However, Penn State did scout transfer quarterbacks in 2021 after Will Levis left for Kentucky. The Lions ultimately chose to stick with the three it had on scholarship, leading to a messy circumstance after Clifford left the Iowa game with an injury. For Penn State, getting into that situation again isn't an option.

"That position is problematic across the country," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "I still think there’s a lot of value in having some patience in developing that position, but that’s not really a word in college football right now."

Yurcich said teams usually carry 4-5 scholarship quarterbacks. The transfer portal can be useful when those numbers are low, or, more likely, when a team can improve at starter.

Franklin and Yurcich certainly understand that. However, they hold tight to the recruit-and-develop model.

In particular, Yurcich said that it's important for quarterbacks to get into an offensive system early, begin training with a consistent strength program and gradually become program leaders.

"We feel strongly that it’s really important for us to ... get them at an early age, at 18 years old, and to train them in your system is the best thing to do," Yurcich said. "So that’s what our focus has been on. It’s not really going to change the thoroughness of how we scout and how far we cast a web and how thoroughly we look at guys and who we invite to camp.

"Those sorts of things are still extremely important, and we’re going to work very diligently and extremely hard in trying to uncover the best talent out there from a prospect standpoint. The portal is alive and well and it’s one of those things that doesn’t stop, either. But it really doesn’t change how we’ve approached scouting and evaluating and the amount of communication that it takes with prospects."

The portal isn't just a one-way intake valve. Penn State has three quarterbacks with freshman eligibility in Christian Veilleux, Allar and Pribula. It also has received a commitment from four-star quarterback Marcus Stokes in the 2023 recruiting class. It's unlikely all four will be at Penn State in 2024.

Franklin and Yurcich said that the prospect of players transferring doesn't affect their decisions regarding playing time. However, the matter still looms.

"The old days of a freshman coming in and having to pay his dues and those things are different," Franklin said. "You’d better be monitoring your roster. You’d better be talking to the parents. You’d better be talking to the high school coaches, all those things. It’s where consistency on your staff is important."

Franklin said roster management has become "almost like a pro player department in some ways." But at quarterback, they want to hold onto certain values.

"The most important thing is that you put the team first when it comes down to those decisions," Yurcich said, "Is whatever you’re doing going to help the team win football games? I think you can get really caught up in a web and it can get very confusing for you if you try to answer every question. The most important thing is, are we helping ourselves win football games and Big Ten championships?"

"[The transfer portal] is a factor," Yurcich added. "It factors in. But we would love to sign high school kids and continue to develop them in our system."

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.