Franklin on Clifford: 'Sean has earned the right to be on the field'

ALTOONA, Pa. -- It sounds like James Franklin has no intention of switching quarterbacks this week, as long as Sean Clifford is healthy, anyway.

Clifford has struggled his past two games -- a win over Northwestern and loss at Michigan -- and was knocked out of the game against the Wolverines in the third quarter with a shoulder injury.

Penn State has the nation's No. 1 quarterback recruit from last year, Drew Allar, who has gotten a good bit of playing time as a true freshman. His skills and ceiling, coupled with Clifford's long track record of mediocrity, have led many in the Nittany Nation to believe now is the time to bench Clifford and give Allar his first-career start.

So, I asked Franklin about just that Tuesday afternoon, saying everybody in football likes to talk about a backup quarterback and what he would tell people who believe now is the time for a change to Allar.

"I don't agree with the statement -- everybody," Franklin said. "But I guess there's a lot of different things that I would say. I think, number one, that's the wrong message, that's the wrong signal.

"And Sean has earned the right to be on the field."

The coach then continued, "That doesn't mean that Drew hasn't done some good things. And would we love to get him an opportunity and continue to grow him and to continue to develop him for his future? No doubt about it."

At that point, Franklin told a story about former Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki, a member of the 2016 Big Ten championship team.

"It's just interesting, and we've kind of talked about the whole dynamics of college football and how it's changed and specifically at Penn State," Franklin said. "But I got a text from Mike Gesicki on Sunday when I was breaking down the film, and in 2016 we lost to Michigan and played Minnesota the following week and found a way to get that win. And the rest of the season went pretty well.

"So, I think there are tons of examples -- not only at Penn State but across the country -- where you do everything you possibly can to win the next week. And I think some of those approaches aren't necessarily about winning this week, in my opinion."

Franklin has one clear goal, which he has talked about 1,000 times over the years, and that's to go 1-0 each week. In his mind, he does everything he can to prepare his team to win the next game, and makes decisions based on what can achieve that goal.

It is clear, based on his answer above, that Franklin still believes Clifford gives this team the best chance to win right now.

Whether fans agree or disagree is irrelevant.

Whether Allar has a chance to be a much better quarterback over the course of his career than Clifford is irrelevant.

For Franklin, Clifford is the guy right now.

Still.

Now, whether Clifford will be fully healthy this week against Minnesota remains to be seen. If a decision has to be made based on health, that could impact Franklin's thinking come Saturday.

The coach wouldn't give any updates on Clifford's status Tuesday, as per his usual policy of not discussing injuries.

"Nothing has changed with the plan or the model at this stage," Franklin said of the QB situation.