Penn State football spring positional outlook: Quarterback

The Penn State football program entered the 2021 preseason with just three quarterbacks on scholarship. 

The cupboards have since been restocked.

Though Ta’Quan Roberson headed off to UConn after the season, Penn State welcomed the return of both Sean Clifford and Christian Veilleux. A super senior and redshirt freshman, respectively, Clifford returns as a three-year starter while Veilleux got his feet wet in two games last year.

Joining them, Penn State crucially also brought in two Class of 2022 quarterbacks as early enrollees. 

Headlined by On3 Consensus No. 4-ranked quarterback Drew Allar, the class also features three-star signal-caller Beau Pribula.

With the full allotment of scholarship quarterbacks on campus and participating, what’s the position’s outlook this spring?

Here’s a closer look at who offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich will be working with this spring:

Penn State quarterback scholarship roster

Sean Clifford – 6th year

Christian Veilleux – 2nd year

Drew Allar – 1st year

Beau Pribula – 1st year

Penn State quarterback spring outlook

When Clifford suits up for Penn State’s spring practices next week, he’ll do so under atypical circumstances. 

Returning for his sixth season with the Nittany Lions, Clifford’s spring practice session will be his fifth in the program.

Clifford’s resume is well-documented. With 33 games started and 38 games played, he’s completed 593 of 973 passes for 7,644 yards and 61 touchdowns. He’s also thrown 22 career interceptions. 

Clifford’s performances have included extreme ends of the spectrum and nearly everything in between. But given the opportunity to finish out his career with some semblance of consistency, bouncing from Ricky Rahne to Kirk Ciarrocca to Mike Yurcich in his three years as a starter, Clifford acknowledged the personal appeal of those circumstances.

“That was definitely one of the most appealing factors that played into it,” Clifford said after announcing his return. “It was having an offensive coordinator for two years, back-to-back. I have yet to have that as a starter. 

“To be honest with you, it has been difficult at times. You can’t really go back to look at the tape and say, ‘All right, we’re going to grow on this play, this play, this play,’ because there are new plays coming in the door. There’s a lot of value in that that is under-appreciated.”

Penn State considers the value to be mutual as it approaches the start of spring practice.

Asked in February to clarify Clifford’s place, Penn State head coach James Franklin laid out the parameters for the program.

“Sean’s our returning starter,” Franklin said. “There’s no doubt about that. But, yeah, there’s competition at every position.”

The competition

Veilleux, Allar, and Pribula will be determined this spring to back up the assertion.

In Veilleux, the Nittany Lions have their only returning quarterback with college game experience. Working in relief of a flu-ridden Clifford against Rutgers and briefly late against Arkansas, Veilleux completed 16 of 26 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns. 

Having been through a spring practice as an early enrollee, Veilleux’s second go-round sets up two concurrent storylines.

The first and most immediate for Veilleux is that of attempting to unseat Clifford for the starting role. With Allar and Pribula in tow, the second is to help set an example for Penn State at the position.

“I think Sean does as good as any quarterback I’ve been around in college in terms of how to prepare, how to watch film, how he studies the game and studies defenses. That’s going to be really valuable for these two quarterbacks,” Franklin said. “With Veilleux’s experience that he was able to gain last year, I think we’re in a healthy position at the quarterback spot with those two guys. I’m really proud of both of them and how they handled the situation throughout the entire process.”

Franklin also praised Allar and Pribula for sharing the same approach.

Said to be welcoming of the opportunity to compete with each other, and the returning veterans in the room, the coming days and weeks will serve as a foundation from which to build in the summer months.

Will any of it change the dynamic of Clifford’s place as the returning starter? Will it change Veilleux’s spot as the returning backup, ahead of preseason camp in July?

Franklin’s comments suggest the climb will be substantial, but not impossible.

“It’s more challenging, at any position, to unseat a returning starter who has been doing it for a couple of years,” Franklin said. “But, there’s competition across the board at every single position. You rebuild your team every single year. And there’ll be competition at every single position, including the quarterback position.”

Walk-on notes

After spending the 2021 season as a backup quarterback, redshirt sophomore Mason Stahl is now working with the receivers.

Penn State currently has no other walk-ons listed as working with the quarterbacks this spring.