STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- It's been a little while since the head coach of the N0. 2 Nittany Lions sent out one of his popular 'We Are...Better' tweets, but that all changed Thursday afternoon.
Penn State, continuing to ride high while building off of last season's success, picked up a verbal pledge from quarterback Taquan Roberson on Thursday, the Lions' second prospect in the 2019 class. Yes, that's right. The Lions continue working ahead to fill up the following group since the 2018 class, ranked No. 4 in the nation by 247Sports, is coming down the final stretch at 22 members.
C O M M I T E D‼️(No interviews until Saturday) pic.twitter.com/oSXQe504sB
— tr.1__ (@TaquanRoberson_) October 26, 2017
Roberson, a three-star dual-threat quarterback from Wayne, N.J., picked the Nittany Lions over offers from North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Kentucky, among others. He joins fellow 2019 pledge Keaton Ellis, a State College defensive back who picked Penn State on Sept. 9.
Roberson was on hand for the Lions' White Out game last weekend against Michigan and also camped at Penn State back in July. As is the case with most classes around the country, getting the quarterback onboard early is the goal. That's something James Franklin mentioned multiple times since his arrival at Penn State, and then using that quarterback to recruit the players he wants to throw to and those he wants protecting him all factor into how the rest of the class shapes up.
It's possible Penn State could land two quarterbacks in the 2019 class, something Franklin hasn't ruled out in the past. However, as Penn State found out with Justin Fields -- who ultimately gave Georgia his verbal pledge after once being locked in on Penn State, and Brandon Wimbush a few years back who is at Notre Dame -- there's still a ways to go in any recruitment. Should Roberson continue to have his recruitment blow up even more, that of course makes life more difficult for Penn State. But, given the Lions' success on the field and with the talented recruiting classes this staff has landed, there's a lot of reasons why Roberson at Penn State makes sense.
So what could the future of the position look like when Roberson could arrive in a couple years? Well, in all likelihood this won't be the case because two seasons is a lifetime in college football, but here's how it would look should everything remain the same:
• Tommy Stevens (would be a fifth-year senior)
• Jake Zembiec (would be a redshirt junior)
• Sean Clifford (would be a redshirt sophomore)
• Will Levis (2018 verbal pledge who would likely be a redshirt freshman)
• Roberson
Again, who knows who the position coach even would be at that point since offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, who also serves as the Lions' quarterbacks coach, is expected to again be in high demand this offseason. There are many moving parts, but landing a quarterback pledge is certainly a plus for Penn State.
Here are highlights from the first four games of Roberson's junior season: