Penn State's James Franklin faces balancing act at quarterback [opinion]

Nov. 1—James Franklin was prepared Tuesday to answer questions about the quarterback position at Penn State.

It doesn't mean that he enjoyed them.

He was miffed when he was asked whether he planned to give freshman quarterback Drew Allar a longer look now that the Nittany Lions are all but eliminated from the Big Ten East race.

"There's still a ton of football left to be played," Franklin said. "Whoever is going to give us a chance to be 1-0 this week and a chance to win a bunch of games this year for all the guys in the locker room, that's who we're gonna go with.

"But just the question, I don't necessarily love the tone of it. But I get it."

Franklin faces a balancing act for the four games remaining in the regular season. Can the Nittany Lions pursue a 10-2 record and possibly a New Year's Six bowl berth that nobody predicted and at the same time prepare for 2023?

"I have a responsibility to the guys in the locker room, as well as the coaches," Franklin said, "to give us the best chance to win as many games as we possibly can.

"What you'd like to do at the same time is get better and build for your future. I hope that you can do those things together. I don't think they're exclusive."

It all comes down to deciding whether to stay with sixth-year senior Sean Clifford at quarterback or replace him with the highly touted Allar.

Clifford, like he has done throughout his career, made some wonderful plays last week in a 44-31 loss to second-ranked Ohio State. He passed for 371 yards and three touchdowns against a defense that hadn't allowed more than 21 points.

On the flip side, he also committed four turnovers, three interceptions and a fumble that led to 21 points.

"If you go back and watch the tape, the guy (Clifford) played his tail off," Franklin said, "and made some really good plays in that game and made some really good plays in the previous game (against Minnesota).

"But obviously there are four to six plays that we gotta get rid of."

And therein lies the dilemma — Clifford's inconsistency.

After the loss to Ohio State, he sounded dejected and had tears in his eyes. He's taken a beating from many fans. Those same people are tired of watching four seasons with him as the starter and want to see the shiny, new object (Allar).

These are the same people, though, who will blame Franklin if he replaces Clifford with Allar and the Lions lose one or two games this month.

"Whenever there are big decisions like that, I want to make sure that I'm not too close to it," Franklin said.

So he talked to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich; defensive coordinator and former Miami (Fla.) head coach Manny Diaz; offensive analyst Ken Whisenhunt, a former NFL head coach with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans; offensive analyst Danny O'Brien, a former Maryland quarterback; and others.

Franklin wouldn't reveal what the consensus was, but it seemed clear that he's prioritizing the next four games against Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers and Michigan State over preparing for 2023.

Zakee Wheatley Sr, father of Penn State redshirt freshman safety Zakee Wheatley, made his voice heard Tuesday on Twitter shortly after Franklin's weekly press conference.

"How many times does he (Franklin) have to hint to all of you who haven't seen one practice that Sean has started because he's been the better quarterback so far?" Wheatley Sr. wrote. "He tries to say that without offending anyone but how can that not be obvious?"

Clifford is on the verge of setting Penn State's career record for passing yards to go with his career record for touchdown passes, which he set last week. He can lead the Lions to a 10-win season and a New Year's Six bowl for the second time in four years.

Allar was rated as the No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2022. He's played in six games, completing 18-of-31 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

"He's a giant human being (6-5, 242) with a quick release who can get the ball out and make all the throws," Franklin said. "He has tremendous arm talent. Some guys who are big, strong guys are not very accurate. He has shown to be accurate. He can throw from different launch points and angles.

"He is doing a lot of things well, but he's still a true freshman."

Getting a young quarterback game experience is a lot more difficult than getting, say, a young defensive lineman game experience. Easier said than done.

"There's no doubt about it," Franklin said. "You get guys in and out. It's harder to do (at quarterback). That's why the practice reps and practice experience are so important. And also the number of games that you're able to get your backups in the game, which we've done."

Will a change be made? Reading the tea leaves tells me that Clifford will remain the starter and that Franklin will try to get Allar playing time in the four remaining games.

Penn State has a chance to win at least 10 games for the fourth time in seven seasons, which it hasn't done since 1993-99. The Lions also have a shot to play in four major bowls in seven seasons, which they haven't done since 1980-86.

That would be quite an accomplishment for a team that began the season unranked in the polls.

"I understand the question, I truly do," Franklin said, referring to whether Allar's playing time will be increased. "But it almost comes off to me as if this game (Saturday at Indiana) is not really important. We're going to look at who gives us the best chance to be 1-0 this week, and go from there."