If he had already made a decision on a starter, James Franklin likely wouldn’t make it public. But the Penn State coach wants to see more this week in practice from his quarterbacks regardless.
To hear Franklin on Tuesday, it didn’t sound likely that Sean Clifford would be able to return for the Nittany Lions’ game against Illinois on Saturday. That means getting a look at both Ta’Quan Roberson and true freshman Christian Veilleux as Clifford continues to recover from an undisclosed injury suffered 10 days earlier in a loss at Iowa.
“We’re going to split the reps between Ta’Quan and Veilleux,” Franklin said at his weekly press conference. “We’ll split the reps, and … it will be a competition. I think it’s always a competition, but it’s probably magnified a little bit.
“Looking at those guys closely in practice and the scrimmage periods and things like that. We will split those reps between those two evenly.”
Penn State has to consider all of its options after Roberson struggled badly in relief of Clifford against the Hawkeyes. The Lions were outscored 20-3 and the offense got traction on just one drive. Roberson finished 7-for-21 for 34 yards and two interceptions while rushing for 27 yards.
It’s safe to say Saturday’s atmosphere will be more welcoming, both from the Beaver Stadium crowd and the Illini, who have lost five of their last six.
”You would like to make the decision as early as you can,” Franklin said. “We’re not in position to do that right now, so those reps will be divided evenly. Once we know that it’s clear, then we’ll make the decision and go from there.”
Roberson would seem to be the most likely candidate to start given Veilleux’s inexperience. Veilleux has had some extra time to adjust to college, having enrolled back in January, but the rookie hasn’t played in a live game since 2019, as his senior season in high school was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for Clifford, the Lions would badly like to have him available for next week’s game at Ohio State, which will determine whether they remain in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Franklin wouldn’t give any clues on a timeframe for Clifford’s return but said his veteran starter is keeping up his preparation.
“He has shown his toughness over the years, physically and mentally,” Franklin said. “Literally just walked coming over here to the press conference and saw him in the facility. He kind of lives in there, watching film and obviously getting treatment and doing everything he possibly can to put him in the best possible position to get back as soon as possible — whenever that may be. So we’ll see.
“It won’t be because of a lack of effort on his part. He’s going to do everything he’s supposed to do, from the doctors and the trainers and their recommendations. Make sure the parents are informed and involved in the process as well. And then mentally in terms of how he approaches the game, as good as I’ve been around. He’s doing all the right things. Not surprised by that. Hopefully that will put him in the best position to come back as soon as possible.”