ALTOONA, Pa. -- See that picture up above? It's Will Levis running the ball. Because, of course it is, since that's basically all he was really allowed to do for much of his Penn State career.
Sure, Levis played quarterback and got on the field on occasion for the Nittany Lions. But let's face it, he was by and large just a running back who took snaps his final season at Penn State in 2020.
Remember that ridiculous game at Rutgers in 2020, when Levis ran the ball 17 times from the QB position, while throwing ZERO? He was backing up Sean Clifford that day and the Lions had issues with running back depth, so Levis became a de facto wildcat tailback.
Levis transferred to Kentucky, started all last season, did well and will enter the 2022 college season with a whole bunch of hype as an NFL prospect.
What would you say if I told you that some NFL draft folks now believe Levis could be a first-round pick next year? In a way-too-early mock draft from The Draft Network, Levis is projected to be -- are you ready for this? -- the No. 6 overall pick next season!
Yeah, yeah, I don't know about all that, either. I mean, going that high certainly seems like a stretch.
Regardless, there's no question that Levis has the attention of NFL scouts because of his cannon arm and great running skills. Here's what the mock draft linked above wrote about him:
If the Giants meet Vegas’ expectations, then things did not go right with Daniel Jones in a make-or-break season. Levis is built like an action figure with terrific mobility and arm talent. Head coach Brian Daboll had a lot of success with a player like that in Buffalo.
Pro Football Focus also has Levis going in the top 10 of its early 2023 mock draft.
🚨 2023 NFL MOCK DRAFT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/xkcetLPyTz
— PFF (@PFF) May 2, 2022
Going in the second or third round next year seems more likely to me for Levis, and that would be quite an accomplishment for the young man.
Meanwhile, Clifford is not expected to be drafted at all next year, not based on most current projections anyway. He obviously still could work his way into being drafted with a strong final season at Penn State, and of course, nothing is guaranteed for Levis, who still has to prove he's worthy of all the hype.
Still, you can see why it's easy to come up with the following question: Did James Franklin make a big mistake when he decided to stick with Clifford over Levis back in 2020?
When you've got one guy who has emerged as a big-time NFL prospect, and another guy who has been mediocre at best and wildly inconsistent in his career, it's absolutely worth looking back and wondering what exactly the Penn State coaching staff was thinking when it was deciding between those two QBs two years ago.
Back in 2020, Penn State started 0-4, and Clifford was benched for the home game against Iowa. Levis got the start and completed 13-of-16 passes in the first half (81.3 percent). The problem was that the coaching staff didn't seem to trust him with the entire passing game playbook, so Levis was only allowed to throw a bunch of short passes -- hence only 106 yards passing on 13 completions.
In a bizarre scenaro, that day against Iowa was basically the beginning and the end of the legitimate chances Levis would get to play quarterback at Penn State.
Unfortunately for him, the Lions' defense was awful that day. Penn State fell behind 3-0, then Levis led a TD drive that put the Lions up 7-3 after one quarter. But Iowa erupted for 21 points in the second quarter and shut out Penn State, taking a 24-7 lead into the locker room at the half.
Levis started the second half, fumbled on his first play, Iowa recovered and went on to score a touchdown to make it 31-7. Levis got one more series, going three and out, and then was replaced by Clifford.
On Clifford's first play, he threw a 28-yard TD to Brenton Strange. On his second play, he threw a 68-yard TD to Jahan Dotson.
And that was that for Levis. On that day and, essentially, for good at Penn State.
Everyone praised Clifford for learning his lesson about getting benched, as he at least kept things respectable in a 41-21 loss to Iowa. After that, Clifford led the Lions to four straight wins to close the season.
Levis attempted eight passes -- completing six -- in those four games, while running the ball 47 times. Again, he was reduced to basically being a running back.
Look, to be fair to Franklin, it seemed reasonable to most people that season that the offense was more dangerous with Clifford, who had started and played well in leading the Lions to an 11-2 record and Cotton Bowl victory the year before. To Franklin, it might have been an easy decision to stick with the quarterback who had more experience and had already gained his trust.
But here's the thing: Coaches get paid -- and Franklin gets paid a TON -- to determine who the best football players are on a team and to play those guys over other guys. Levis arrived at Penn State in 2018, so he had been around long enough for Franklin to be able to tell what the young man could do -- or potentially do -- if given a full opportunity to showcase all of his skills.
Franklin never gave Levis that full opportunity to be a complete quarterback. Not against Iowa in 2020, when Levis could only throw a bunch of short passes, and after Clifford had been a turnover machine leading up to that game.
Franklin remained loyal to Clifford. Maybe other coaches around the country would have done the same thing with a guy who had gone 11-2 the year before. But Clifford's struggles in 2020 were so alarming -- and the season was already lost at 0-5 -- that you just cannot help but wonder why Franklin refused to find out more about what he had in Levis.
Clifford, of course, started last season 5-0 and had the Lions ranked No. 4 and leading at Iowa before he got injured and the wheels fell off. Penn State lost that game and finished 7-6, with Clifford playing inconsistently the rest of the way.
Levis, meanwhile, led Kentucky to a 10-3 season and top 20 ranking (15 in coaches poll, 18 in AP).
Here's a look at how the two QBs compared statistically in 2021:
Clifford: 3,107 yards passing, 21 TDs, 8 INTs, 61 percent completion, 163 yards rushing with 2 TDs
Levis: 2,826 yards, 24 TDs, 13 INTs, 66 percent completion, 376 yards rushing with 9 TDs
To be fair to Clifford, Penn State's running game was awful last season, so he had to do everything. If the Lions' offensive line improves this year and he's not asked to be the entire offense, there's a chance he could have a strong final season.
And if he does, Clifford can improve his stock and work his way up draft boards for next year. He's a smart guy, a good leader and hard worker, so if he can just play with more consistency and not turn the ball over, perhaps he could find a spot in the NFL in some capacity.
But while we're asking about those hypothetical possibilities with Clifford, there just simply aren't as many questions with regards to Levis when it comes to NFL potential. He has a stronger arm than Clifford, is more mobile and from all accounts on the Kentucky side is a good and respected leader.
Who has a chance to be the better NFL quarterback? That's an easy question, because pretty much everyone will agree it's Levis.
But I'll ask another question here for Penn State fans: Who would you rather have starting for the Lions this season -- Clifford or Levis?
If you say Clifford, all I can ask is: Why?
But hey, James Franklin made his decision long ago. He chose loyalty to Clifford over a more talented athlete with a higher upside. That has to be a concern for Penn State fans, and it cannot go without saying that Franklin did the exact same thing last year when he turned to Ta'Quan Roberson over Christian Veilleux with the game on the line at Iowa.
Coaches have to make difficult decisions, and choosing the right quarterback in a tough competition is the most important decision any coach can make. The bottom line is it's certainly fair to question Franklin's decision-making process, and if Levis does become a high NFL draft pick, there really will be no way for the coach to justify why he decided to stick with Clifford.
