ALTOONA, Pa. -- The clocks sprung ahead over the weekend and Penn State has sprung right into spring practice, with its first coming Monday afternoon.
It was an off-season that dealt with coaching hires and fires, transfers in and out and everything in between, but one issue remains unresolved and it might just take until the end of the spring to find the answer: The quarterback position.
The Nittany Lions struggled mightily in 2020, starting 0-5 en route to a 4-5 record, and one of the biggest factors in that horrid start was the quarterback play of both starter Sean Clifford and former backup Will Levis.
At this point last year, on the heels of a season that saw Penn State win the Cotton Bowl, quarterback was considered a position of strength; now, it's the biggest question mark heading into the coming season. This, despite Clifford having the potential to be a three-year starter, pending the outcome of spring practices.
Clifford entered last season as the undisputed starter, but after the 2020 season, there is quite a bit of doubt surrounding him and his capabilities as a starter. At times, Clifford looked every bit the player he did in 2019. More often than not, he looked like he was in over his head.
"Where we were coming into last season and where we are coming in to this season are different," Penn State coach James Franklin said Monday. "It also creates tremendous opportunity, and I think that's how Sean's approaching it."
That opportunity is Clifford's for the taking as a two-year starter and the elder statesman of the position group. It also opens the door for Ta'Quan Roberson who, outside of Clifford, is the only quarterback at spring practice with game experience at the collegiate level. Joining those two is true freshman Christian Veilleux, who enrolled in January.
While there's plenty of inexperience to go around, this is the most intriguing position battle in quite some time for Franklin and his staff.
"We want to see Ta'Quan and Christian," Franklin said. "We want to feel like we can put those guys in a game and win with them."
By no means are those three certain to be the only ones competing for the starting job. In fact, there's still an outside chance a transfer could enter the mix in the near future.
"There's some opportunities as well in the transfer market, from a competition and a depth standpoint," Franklin said.
Bringing in a transfer is much like an onion, in that it has a multitude of layers to make it work. When having someone join the program at a position like quarterback, the margin of error is very small.
"We got to make sure we're bringing the right person in here from not only an academic fit, but from a cultural fit, and from a competitive perspective," Franklin said.
Should things go awry during spring practices, Franklin and Co. could hit the transfer portal more aggressively in search of someone to add to the position group, but the hope would be for one of the three players already at Penn State to take the lead. While one might think Clifford has a leg up because of his experience, it should be remembered that this is a brand-new offense once again, and it looks as if reps in practice will be earned based on performance.
"If somebody puts themselves in a position to earn more reps, with whatever group it is, then we'll look at that," Franklin said.
The hope for Franklin is the program will have everything sorted out at the position by the end of spring practices, but as the past year showed, anything is possible.
"By the end of spring, we'd like to have a pretty good idea of who our first-team, second-team and third-team quarterbacks are," Franklin said.
If the Nittany Lions enter the summer without a solution at quarterback or are still in the competition phase, it could spell much trouble for one of the most important positions on the field. That's something Penn State can ill afford.
More from Franklin:
• With capacity limitations at outdoor events being upped to 50 percent, there remains hope Penn State will be able to have some form of a Blue-White Game, the annual spring scrimmage. From a logistical standpoint, the Nittany Lions would be able to pull it off and should have ideas already in place to make it happen. An announcement should come in the near future.
"There's some discussions going on with that at the university level right now ... we want to get to as close as normal by next season," Franklin said. " We hope to make an announcement here sooner rather than later."
• There was quite a bit of staff turnover for Franklin and the Nittany Lions this off-season, which can make for a feeling-out process for both the head coach and the rest of the staff. Franklin, though, prefers to be hands-off once the rooms are being operated in the manner he expects.
"Once I'm comfortable that those rooms are being run the way we need them to be run, then I step away," Franklin said.
Of his coaching staff, six were lettermen at Penn State, which gives a different perspective during the coaching process for both recruits and current players.
"I think these guys can provide a unique experience to our players," Franklin said. "It's also a place that these guys are passionate about."
• Running back Noah Cain, who was injured on the first drive of the first game of the season against Indiana, is on track to begin practicing this spring. It won't happen right away, but expect Cain to be back about halfway through spring practices.
• It was well-known last year Franklin and his family spent the season apart, with his wife and daughters living at their beach home in Florida while Franklin stayed in State College. This year, Franklin and his family are back together, albeit in a different way, as Franklin now stays in the apartment above his garage while his wife and daughters stay in the house.
"We're not back to normal and I'm not sure when that will be," Franklin said.
The family stays apart due to one of his daughters having a rare sickle cell trait, which has led to her immune system being compromised. Spending the time apart had a lasting effect on Franklin.
"I always knew I was a family guy," he said. "Going through last year really emphasized that."
