The Penn State Nittany Lions football team has a lot going for them going into the 2019 season. They’ve had 14 consecutive winning seasons which is one of five teams in the country to accomplish that currently. Penn State is also one of six schools to have won nine or more regular-season games in the last three years. The others are Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Washington.
One thing the Nittany Lions will have to do to continue these streaks is to find a replacement for quarterback Trace McSorley who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens. “We’ve had over the last couple of years. Obviously, when you lose a quarterback who’s played as much football as Trace McSorley has played for us, that’s going to lead you off with some question marks going into the season. But we are young, we are talented. Probably the fastest football team that I’ve been a part of in probably my nine years as a head football coach, so we’re excited about having that speed and athleticism on the field,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said.
Two quarterbacks that could be named the starter are Sean Clifford and Will Levis. Clifford is the more experienced out of the two having completed 5-7 passes last season for 195 yards and two touchdowns. “We’ve got two, what we would consider veterans in Sean Clifford and Mr. Levis, that are going to have a great competition this camp, and have really had that all summer, including spring ball, and then we’ve got two freshmen that are also going to have an opportunity to compete, as well, and we’ll make the decision when the decision has been made, when it’s obvious to everybody who our starting quarterback is going to be,” Franklin said.
Another area of concern will be the running back position. McSorley led the team in rushing touchdowns with 11 and was second in yards with 723. Miles Sanders (Philadelphia Eagles) was the leading rusher last year with 1,223 yards and nine touchdowns. Wide Receiver is the one area on offense that the Nittany Lions have a lot of experience coming back. The top three receivers from last year all return. KJ Hamler, and Juwan Johnson were the top two leading receivers a year ago. Tight End Pat Freiermuth also returns.
Coach Franklin also has high expectations for his defense. “On defense, at defensive end, I think we have a chance to be as good as anywhere in the country at defensive end. Went into spring ball with question marks at D- tackle. I think we’re probably a little bit further ahead there than we thought we were. Same thing at the safety position. And then we feel like we’ve got a chance to be really talented at linebacker and corner,” Franklin said.
Written by Garin Turner
Image Credit: Nicholas Windsor
