Where’s Penn State’s recruiting buzz, has the win total prediction changed, can Sean Clifford run, more: Mailbag – PennLive

Penn State spring practice taught us a little bit about a many parts of the Nittany Lions program.

The week after spring practice helped observers learn even more about what the 2019 version of head coach James Franklin’s team will look like come the opener against Idaho.

Tommy Stevens is leaving the program, his father told multiple outlets on Thursday. That means Sean Clifford is set to take the quarterback reigns from Trace McSorley, who hopes to be employed by a NFL team at this time next week.

Plenty of expected change took place between the start of drills in mid-March and now, and then Stevens’ departure was a sudden and unexpected alteration to the team’s outlook heading into summer workouts.

Because of it, the PennLive Penn State mailbag is back to answer your burning questions about the team as recruiting readies to pick up.

As always, questions can be submitted to [email protected] or on Twitter by sending a message to @GregPickel.

Questions are in bold text and answers are in non-bold text.

Let’s get to it.

@Shipp_Dogg asks: With the assumption that Tommy will move on, will there be a legit QB battle in camp between Clifford and Levis or is it Clifford’s to lose?

James Franklin might term it a competition because it’s an important word within the program, but it’s simply not feasible to envision Levis passing Clifford unless the latter ends up in a walking boot, cast, or sling between now and the end of August.

@FlyersPaul asks: On a scale of Hackenberg to Tommy Stevens, how mobile can Sean Clifford be?

I think smack in the middle might be close to right.

Clifford is no Hackenberg, who would only escape the pocket when he absolutely had to and even then, rarely did.

At St. Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio, Clifford ran for 12 scores his senior year and James Franklin recently raved, before the Stevens transfer news, about how Clifford has upped his explosiveness.

It’s unlikely that Clifford is going to frequently tuck and run. It’s similarly unreasonable to think he’s ever going to become a Trace McSorley or Tommy Stevens when it comes to picking up chunks of yards at a time with his feet.

The good news, though, is that half the battle is making the correct reads in Ricky Rahne’s offense and then being able to take advantage of what’s there enough times for defenses to fear the potential quarterback keeper.

As long as Clifford can do that, and there is little doubt that he can, there should be no concerns about his mobility slowing down the offense.

@StuffSomersSays asks: With the faux throwback uniform coming back, do you think we will see anything else this year in the uniform department?

First, for those who may have missed it, Penn State announced that its ‘Generations of Greatness’ jersey that it wore for the 2017 Indiana game will return for this year’s Purdue game on Oct. 5.

As for any other new future uniform combinations, I think the fact that the program decided to wear those again as opposed to dreaming up a new alternate uniform indicates that nothing original should be expected in the near future.

@the_under_score asks: How excited are you for mobile betting in PA?

I’ll answer a question with a question: How excited are those of you waiting for mobile betting to fade picks from Bob Flounders, Dave Jones, and I this fall?

@pp1641 asks: Do you think Tommy Stevens is leaving because he was told he won’t be no. 1 or did he just have a moment of clarity that his injury will hold him back from being the starter? If it’s the latter why would another school take him if he remains injured?

I think it’s a mixture of what you asked.

After reading quotes from Tom Stevens, Tommy’s father, in articles posted by the Centre Daily Times and The Athletic, it seems fairly obvious that Tommy Stevens is moving on because he’s not guaranteed the starting spot, which he shouldn’t be after sitting out all spring, and he clearly feels as if he might be too far behind to overcome Sean Clifford’s lead.

Stevens, like every onetime FBS recruit, wants to play in the pros. If he can’t beat out Clifford, that’s probably not going to happen.

It seems, then, that he’s willing to roll the dice elsewhere. He’ll hope to find a guaranteed spot to start, which is going to be hard but probable not impossible, and try and make the best of it.

@oldutch_psu asks: Who do you think will be the starters on OL?

Hey, a non-quarterback question.

A few open portions of spring practices, the Blue-White game, and multiple comments make the likely starting five, from left to right:

Rasheed Walker – Steven Gonzalez – Michal Menet – CJ Thorpe – Will Fries

Mike Miranda is going to play, too. James Franklin has made that very clear. But, Thorpe appeared to take a big step forward after switching positions again this offseason, and that should give him the edge entering camp and ultimately the season.

@Dan_Saxton asks: Who among the D Line depth do you foresee making a big step up this year?

Good question.

I liked what was said about Daniel Joseph this spring. He had an adjustment to make when he arrived on campus and PSU’s staff needed to decide if he was a tackle or an end, but he seemed to have settled at end and should be a part of the depth behind Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Toney this fall.

Looking at the defensive tackle picture, let’s go with Harrisburg’s Damion Barber. He has received some praise and it looks like he finally settled inside. The former Cougar may not be a star in 2019, but he should be a positive contributor.

@heimbach13 asks: Julian Fleming odds?

At one point earlier this year, I would have said Penn State had a 95 percent chance of landing the nation’s No. 1 receiver, No. 5 player overall, and five-star Southern Columbia star.

Now? I’d say it’s a 95 percent chance.

Clemson has impressed Fleming, and Georgia seemingly has made a move, too. That’s not to mention Alabama, which hosted the standout for an official visit last weekend.

No matter, nothing has changed the outlook enough to lower Penn State’s chances of landing Fleming from my point of view. He still visits often, and still is a ways from deciding.

@jstarr1999 asks: Who do you think the lead back will end up being by mid-season?

Will Penn State have a lead back by mid-season?

There seems to be two schools of thought here. One is that a feature back is a must, and that going with the hot hand at all times will lead to ruin.

On the other hand, in the day and age of keeping your backs as fresh as possible, why wouldn’t Penn State cycle Ricky Slade, Journey Brown, and Noah Cain through its game plan?

Whichever camp you reside in, there’s little debate that there must be one back who is the go-to when the chips are on the table late in the game. My bet is that, by mid-season and probably earlier, that guy will be Slade, as his experience will win out.

@LivelifDreamBig asks: The 247sports crystal ball predicts Brian Bresee will pick Clemson and it sounds like Julian Fleming will pick Clemson as well. Is it going to take Penn State making the playoffs or winning a National Championship for James Franklin get big time recruits?

It does look as if Bresee will pick Clemson when he announces during a ceremony at his school next Tuesday.

Fleming, on the other hand, I’m not sold on. See the comments above.

I would also point out Micah Parsons, Brandon Smith, Lance Dixon, Ricky Slade, and Justin Shorter, the program’s most-recent five-star signees.

If Penn State wants to continue to get the best and do it consistently, yes, championships will play a role, as 9-4 season won’t get it done the further removed the program is from the 2016 Big Ten title.

That said, they’re doing quite well as it is.

@stevedavis17111 asks: Am I crazy for thinking 99/11 can be as good as 86/11 circa 1999?

Not quite, but it is a very high bar to think Yetur Gross-Matos and Micah Parsons, as a junior and sophomore respectively, can match the production that Courtney Brown and Lavar Arrington had as seniors.

Neither needs the added pressure, because both Gross-Matos and Parsons want to play at an All-American level. If they do, then this is a topic of conversation in December. If not, than it isn’t.

@posas13 asks: 2019 Penn State wins forecast?

In the last mailbag a few weeks back, I predicted Penn State to be 9-3.

I see no reason to change that.

Do we know less about Sean Clifford than we did Tommy Stevens in terms of actual game action? Certainly. But change ‘game action’ to ‘live quarterback play focusing on passing’ and the difference is negligible.

Because of that, there is no reason to adjust the belief that a chance for double-digit wins with a bowl game is on the horizon.

@erock3434 asks: How does the offense change (if at all) from last year to this year if Clifford is the starting QB this season? Can Clifford be any threat at all to run the Trace and Tommy were?

As discussed above, Clifford is not going to endlessly run like Trace McSorley did and he won’t have the speed that Stevens has.

James Franklin knew what kind of quarterback Joe Moorhead wanted when the teamed up to land Sean Clifford, and Ricky Rahne was a part of that recruitment, too.

If that trio did not think Clifford could play in the offense as it is currently designed, then they would not have went out and landed him.

The offense won’t change in any great way with Clifford manning it, and yes, he can be a running threat.

@pixofgold asks: In your opinion, what will RB depth chart look like for the final game? Does Noah Cain jump to RB1?

I think it will start with Ricky Slade over Journey Brown over Noah Cain, with those three receiving something like a 65/35/10 snap count share.

By the end of the year? It’s hard enough to predict the beginning! Cain looked strong this spring, however, so a big rise for him cannot be ruled out. That said, Slade and Brown have the experience edge and are talented in their own right.

@Riley165B asks: Why has the recruiting momentum fallen off of a cliff? Besides the double commitment, the buzz and Crystal balls etc are going basically anywhere but us. Can you put your finger on it?

Penn State has been offering some three-star recruits of late, making some wonder if the program is expecting to miss out on some top targets.

It seems likely, and as the question mentions, predictions are now favoring the Lions to lose out on more priority recruits than win.

Recruiting is always about the long game, though. How things look in April may not be how they look in December. Patience is key. Micah Parsons recruitment is as good a reminder of that as anything.

That said, when it comes to buzz: This is a 9-4 team that now must replace a ton of starters and just lost its presumed starting quarterback. Offseason hype about coming season can often drive recruiting buzz at this point of the calendar. Penn State’s team buzz is less than ideal at the moment, so perhaps the fact that the recruiting buzz is low should not be shocking, either.

@angelogerad asks: Who becomes the 3rd string QB now that Stevens is no longer a member of the team?

January enrollees and Class of 2019 signees Taquan Roberson and Michael Johnson Jr. will battle in camp for that honor.

@FrankJInPA asks: Any news on offensive tackle transfers into PSU. I think we only have 4 scholarship tackles.

None yet.

By my count, the scholarship tackles are: Rasheed Walker, Will Fries, Anthony Whigan, Des Holmes, and Bryce Effner. So, that’s four, not five, but ye: An addition or two would be nice.

It’s unclear where the Lions will find such a fit, though. Sure, depth could be out there, but Penn State will hardly be the only program trying to land it before summer camp begins.

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