Tag: Christian Veilleiux

Penn State spring football: quarterback preview

As Penn State begins spring football practices, there is a fresh look at the quarterback position led by Drew Allar.

After years of consistency in the quarterback position, 2023 ushers in a new era for Penn State as they have a youth movement at the position.

[autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] is attempting a career in the NFL after four years as the start for Penn State, meanwhile, former 5-star recruit [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] looks to take the reigns as a sophomore. Backing him up though is the definition of inexperience which further pushes the importance of the role that Allar will play this year.

From Allar to the new faces on campus, let this be your quarterback preview for Spring football in 2023.

Drew Allar

Syndication: The Herald-Times

Measurables: 6’5″/238 lbs.

Year: Sophomore

Expected Role: Starting Quarterback

Drew Allar is the most hyped and anticipated starting quarterback in program history since Christan Hackenberg in 2013. Ten years later we get Allar who steps in for the veteran and consistent Sean Clifford. Allar has even been getting some early Heisman Trophy discussion as well.

Penn State has a mid-tier passing defense scheduled for them in 2023 which should give him some success in 2023. Penn State hasn’t had a true dual-threat quarterback in quite some time so we can also expect the offense to look different this year. They have got the skill players around him for success, all that is left is for Allar to dive into the deep end of the pool and start swimming.

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Christian Veilleux stays in Pennsylvania, transfers to Pittsburgh

Former Penn State QB announces transfer to Pitt.

Penn State is finally moving on from four year starter [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] as he looks to embark on an NFL career, or a professional career in another league, and there are some repercussions from the log jam he created. One can be seen as the passing game became stale and never got a taste of anything flashy. Another is more quarterbacks come in and grow impatient.

For [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag], he perhaps grew impatient, and for good reason. He made appearances in just five games, including three this past season, but never received meaningful reps. Because of that, he decided to enter the transfer portal and pursue greener pastures and in no time at all, it appears he found a fresh start.

Veilleux committed to Pittsburgh out of the transfer portal this week to compete with fellow transfer Phil Jurkovec. Jurkovec will have the unofficial home-field advantage being a Pittsburgh native but for Veilleiux to earn his spot is nothing new.

Veilleux entered the 2022 offseason as the presumed No. 2 behind Clifford and the thought was James Franklin would continue to favor the elder players. The problem is five-star freshman [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] won the backup gig during training camp, forcing Veilleux further down the quarterback assembly line.

Veilleux’s playing time this fall was limited to three appearances, completing 7 of 9 passes for 44 yards against Ohio, Auburn, and Maryland. Coach Franklin and the staff seemingly loved him but at the end of the day when you are a quarterback who was heavily recruited out of high school, especially out of Canada, you know those options should still exist.

The worst case in all of this, Veilleux will have to be patient one more year. He will have his best and most realistic chance to be the guy for the Panthers in 2024. Jurkovec runs out of eligibility and will be forced to move on while Veilleux would have at least one more year left.

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Sean Clifford announces his decision on his future at Penn State

Sean Clifford announced whether or not he will be leaving Penn State. Does his decision surprise you?

The decision has been made by Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. On Friday afternoon, Clifford announced he is coming back for one more season at Penn State and taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA for a sixth year in Happy Valley.

“Penn State is more than football to me It is family. My teammates, Coach Franklin,m the staff and the community have shaped me into the man I am today and I am forever grateful,” Clifford said in a statement posted to his Twitter account on Friday.

“I will be returning to Penn State to play one more season in the Blue & White, ” Clifford continued. “I could not pass up the chance to be with this family and play the game I love again. The opportunity to play alongside my brother, Liam, and the rest of my brothers on the team made this decision easy.”

Clifford’s younger brother, wide receiver Liam Clifford, joined the program in the Class of 2021.

Clifford’s decision is a very intriguing one and actually gives Penn State one of the most interesting quarterback rooms in the Big Ten going into next season. Clifford will be the elder statesman in the Penn State quarterback room, on the roster, and throughout the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Penn State is lining up to add one of the top quarterbacks in the Class of 2022 with the incoming addition of Drew Allar, who will likely now get a chance to learn under Clifford’s leadership in 2022. Allar is expected to be the team’s quarterback of the future after Clifford, and that could lead to at least one quarterback potentially exploring the transfer portal a bit in the near future.

Christian Veilleux got one start for Penn State this season and looked confident in a win over Rutgers, and Taquan Roberson had a rough outing when used to replace an injured Clifford against Iowa. Keeping all four quarterbacks happy will be a tall order for James Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, so we will be watching the quarterback situation following Clifford’s announcement.

Clifford will now have another chance to leave his mark on the Penn State program as he will be able to give a run at some of the school’s all-time passing records. Leading up to Penn State’s appearance in the Outback Bowl against Arkansas, Clifford is second on the Penn State all-time touchdown passing list with 61 career touchdown passes. He trails only Trace McSorley, who had 77 career touchdown passes from 2015 through 2018 for the Nittany Lions.

McSorley also is Penn State’s all-time leading passer with 9,899 career passing yards. Clifford will have a shot at that mark as well. Clifford currently has 7,644 career passing yards, which is good for third in the Penn State record books behind McSorley and Christian Hackenberg (8,457 yards).

Clifford was an improved player from the 2020 season, but got beat up a bit at times this season against physical defenses. It will be important for Penn State’s offensive line to continue to improve and make Clifford’s return in 2022 a wise move in the long run.

Your take!

What do you think about Sean Clifford’s decision? Leave a comment in our brand new comment section and join the discussion!

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