ALTOONA, Pa. -- In a not completely surprising move, backup quarterback Will Levis announced he would be entering the transfer portal. Levis will have three years of eligibility wherever he decides to go as a result of eligibility rules and graduating in three years from Penn State.
Levis wasn't the only Penn State player to hit the transfer portal Thursday as he joins linebacker Lance Dixon, who entered the portal earlier in the day.
Excited for the future. #WeAre 💙 pic.twitter.com/m2KCtV1vZu
— Will Levis (@will_levis) January 28, 2021
The reason this move isn't completely shocking for Levis is that he was never going to pass starting quarterback Sean Clifford on the depth chart unless Clifford got hurt. Levis, a redshirt sophomore, wasn't able to overtake Clifford last year in his lone start and was benched later in the game due to turning the ball over.
With Mike Yurcich now in the fold, running a pass-heavy offense, it makes sense Levis would seek a change of scenery as his role next season was sure to change in the new offense.
Levis was never really given the opportunity to showcase his skills while with the Nittany Lions recording more rushes than passes in the blue and white. It's a tough ask of a quarterback, even one as physical of a runner as Levis is, to run the ball more often than not while in the game.
Levis finished his career throwing for 644 yards and three touchdowns while also adding 473 yards and six touchdowns on the ground with three of those coming in 2020. Wherever Levis goes, they will be getting an athletic, physical quarterback who has no qualms running the ball.
He's not the only Penn State quarterback to leave the team this off-season as he joins fellow quarterback Micah Bowens in the transfer portal, leaving the Nittany Lions with only three scholarship quarterbacks at this time.
The question here is why Dixon left, who played in all nine games for the Nittany Lions, including one start. Dixon, a redshirt freshman, accumulated 10 tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. It's important to note his high school coach, Ron Bellamy just took a coaching position at Michigan and Dixon hails from the state of Michigan as well.
Dixon came to Penn State as a highly sought after five-star recruit and appeared in three games as a freshman in 2019 before seeing his playing time increase in a big way in 2020.
At this time, it's pure speculation for where he will end up, but it's clear he wasn't quite happy with something at Penn State and decided to pursue other options. The rest of the linebackers seem to be in good shape as they return to practice in the next few weeks.
It doesn't seem as though there are any issues inside the Penn State program though, despite the multitude of transfers, and it does open up scholarships for the Nittany Lions to offer those they are seeking in the transfer portal. That's something Franklin has done in a big way thus far in 2021.