Former Penn State QB named new starting QB with his new team.
After losing the starting job due to injury a season ago, former Penn State quarterback [autotag]Ta’Quan Roberson[/autotag] will step back into the starting role with the UConn Huskies as a result of an injury. Roberson has been named the new starting quarterback for the Huskies by head coach Jim Mora following an injury to Joe Fagnano, who had been the team’s starting quarterback this season.
“Now this year, the guy ahead of Ta’Quan gets hurt and now Ta’Quan gets his chance again,” Mora said when updating the media about his team’s quarterback situation, via an AP report. “We have a lot of confidence in him and we’re really disappointed for Joe.”
Roberson completed just one of two pass attempts before suffering a season-ending shoulder surgery in 2022. Roberson played last weekend in UConn’s 35-14 loss to Georgia State. He completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 216 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also carried the football four times for a gain of 11 yards.
Roberson was a backup to former Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford in 2021, getting backup snaps ahead of another former Penn State quarterback who later transferred, Christian Veilleux, early in the season. Roberson relieved an injured Clifford in a road game at Iowa that ultimately resulted in Penn State’s first loss of the season, and Roberson took a lot of heat for his performance, which was largely unfair to him. Roberson completed just 7 of 21 pass attempts for 34 yards with two interceptions in the 23-20 loss, a game Penn State appeared to be in control of at the time Clifford left the game with an injury.
Roberson was unable to land the starting job leading up to the 2023 season as UConn opted to go with Fagnano, an experienced transfer from Maine that seemed like a solid fit for the Huskies. Fagnano started UConn’s game against Georgia State before coming out with his shoulder injury.
Roberson’s first time back in the starting saddle for UConn will take place this Saturday with a home game against FIU.
James Franklin was definitive on his backup QB decision in Week 1, but not so much in Week 2.
Penn State fans got a brief glimpse of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] in action in Week 1 against Purdue, but head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] is reluctant to say the freshman will be the top backup to [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] again in week 2.
Franklin named Allar the team’s backup quarterback in Penn State’s season opener at Purdue. Allar got on the field to run the offense for a series in the third quarter while Clifford was attended to briefly in the locker room. But despite the brief appearance as Penn State’s backup quarterback, Franklin is heading into Week 2 looking for a competition at the backup position between Allar and [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag].
“We haven’t really made any decisions,” Franklin said on Tuesday in a press conference with the media when asked if Allar will be the backup option again. “We had basically a Friday corrections jog-through practice, and kind of a bonus one on Sunday, which we were able to do a little bit more, but we still were only in helmets.”
“Tuesday and Wednesday are our work days where we get the best evaluation of where we’re at,” Franklin explained. “That determines maybe some moves that we may or may not make. It’s a competition week-in and week-out. I don’t have that answer for you right now.”
A week ago, Franklin came right out and said Allar would be the team’s backup. This week, he is clearly taking a more open approach to not necessarily rule out the possibility Veilleux gets the nod if needed. It is an interesting change in messaging from the head coach, and there could be multiple reasons to do so for Franklin. Franklin has always been one to pump up competition for the team’s best interest. But the public messaging on the subject could also be a tactic used to try to convince Veilleux he is still a key member of the team to keep him from contemplating entering the transfer portal.
Penn State has lost two backup quarterbacks to the transfer portal since the end of the 2020 season with [autotag]Will Levis[/autotag] going to Kentucky and [autotag]Ta’Quan Roberson[/autotag] heading to UConn.
Penn State faces Ohio in Beaver Stadium on Saturday, September 10 at 12:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
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Best of luck to former Penn State quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson, who will be the starting QB for UConn.
There will be two former Penn State quarterbacks starting the season as QB1 with another program this fall. [autotag]Will Levis[/autotag] took the SEC and Kentucky by storm last season after being anointed the starting quarterback for the Wildcats last season, and he is now a trendy pick to be among the first quarterbacks chosen in the 2023 NFL draft. It may be premature to suggest the fortunes will smile upon [autotag]Ta’Quan Roberson[/autotag] the same way at UConn, but a fresh start may have paid off for the former Penn State backup.
Roberson, as expected, has been tabbed as the starting quarterback for the UConn Huskies, who begin their 2022 season on Saturday at Utah State. Pete Thamel of ESPN reported the quarterback news on Saturday morning, hours before UConn was set to kickoff against the defending Mountain West Conference champions. Roberson will be the first starting quarterback for new UConn head coach Jim Mora, and there is still some good potential to be utilized for the Huskies program.
Roberson was used in limited action during his short stay at Penn State. He appeared in four games for the Nittany Lions last season, most notably in place of an injured Sean Clifford in a road loss at Iowa. Roberson was in a tough spot against the Hawkeyes and did not perform well enough to help Penn State hold off Iowa in the first loss of the 2021 season.
When Clifford was forced out of a game later in the season against Rutgers, it was Christian Veilleux who took the field in place of Roberson. The writing appeared to be on the wall at that point, and Roberson entered the transfer portal at the end of the 2021 season.
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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.
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!
5 takeaways from Penn State’s 28-0 victory over Rutgers in Week 12
Penn State managed to close out its home schedule with a win on Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium. As I suspected it may be, it was a bit of a slow burn for Rutgers as Penn State pulled away in the second half after a sluggish start to the game. But what I didn’t see coming was a backup quarterback coming into the game to provide the much-needed spark on offense. Christian Veilleux was impressive in his first career game for Penn State and the defense was once again its dominant self as Penn State handled Rutgers, 28-0, to clinch a winning season.
Here are some of my initial takeaways from Penn State’s Week 12 win against Rutgers.
1. A look to the future with Christian Veilleux?
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Fans love the backup quarterback, and Christian Veilleux gave no reason not to be looking forward to the future of the Penn State offense. For all of the focus that has been placed on Class of 2022 quarterback Drew Allar, it may be premature to completely forget about Veilleux too.
On Saturday, Veilleux quickly got himself adjusted to what he was facing from the Rutgers defense and ended his first career game with three touchdown passes and 235 yards. He also rushed for 36 yards on 10 rushing attempts.
2. It’s a shame Sean Clifford didn’t get to finish the game
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
I said after the Michigan loss last week that Sean Clifford was absolutely deserving of respect for his commitment to representing this program despite being as banged up as he has been and was against the Wolverines. I see no reason to back away from that stance this week. Clifford was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with an apparent arm injury, but he was also reportedly under the weather and not feeling great for the game. But on senior day, he wanted to get one final time to go out a winner in a Penn State uniform in Beaver Stadium.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get to do that quite in the way he would have liked. We’ll see if Clifford is available and back in the starting lineup next week when Penn State goes to Michigan State. If he is healthy, I see no reason James Franklin would not go back to Clifford. But if Clifford is not ready to play, then there should be no reason to hesitate to hand the starting job to Veilleux for the first time.
Arnold Ebiketie has been so much fun to watch this season
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
It seems as though Arnold Ebiketie has been involved in some big moments all season long for Penn State. And on a line that lost PJ Mustipher recently, having Ebiketie making plays is always welcomed. The former Temple player who transferred to Penn State appears to be taking advantage of the opportunity to be a defensive force in Happy Valley and scouts will surely be intrigued to see how he looks in the draft prep cycle.
Penn State’s other transfer addition on the defensive line, Derrick Tangelo from Duke, also had an early impact with some big plays to set the tone.
4. I still am in awe of Jordan Stout
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Maybe I have been covering Penn State and Big Ten football too long, but I have really been enjoying the art of Penn State punter Jordan Stout. In a game of field position early on, Penn State and Rutgers were each well equipped in the punting department with two of the best punters in the nation showing off what they can do. Stout was pinning the Scarlet Knights offense deep in their own end throughout the first half, and he ended up getting more of a rest in the second half and the offense got going.
Having a punter like Stout is a luxury that can fly under the radar, but Penn State has one of the best punters in the country.
Let’s not revisit the Iowa game too much
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Going back to Christian Veilleux, it is difficult not to go back to the Iowa game and wonder what could have been if James Franklin opted to go with Veilleux instead of Taquan Roberson when Clifford was knocked out of the game by the Hawkeyes earlier this season.
That is easy to do after witnessing what Veilleux did against Rutgers, but I have a feeling not much would have been different if Franklin had a do-over. Even if Veilleux was inserted in the game in place of the injured Clifford against Iowa, Veilleux would have been put in the same awful situation Roberson was. On the road against the Iowa defense off the bench would have been as stiff a challenge as you could be put in. Veilleux had a much better situation in front of him in Week 12 against Rutgers at home and with the benefit of roughly twice as many weeks’ worth of practices under this belt.
But still, it’s hard not to wonder what could have been. Could Veilleux have led Penn State to one scoring drive that would change the outlook of the game? Maybe, but there is no guarantee.
Penn State QB Sean Clifford was spotted at practice but James Franklin is encouraging a competition between backup QBs just in case
Coming off there by week, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position at Penn State as Sean Clifford continues to work through an injury suffered against Iowa. And while the jury is still out on whether or not Clifford may be available this weekend for Penn State’s homecoming game with Illinois, it is clear that head coach James Franklin is using the opportunity to open up a bit of a competition for playing time in any possible absence of Clifford.
“We’re going to split the reps between TaQuan [Roberson] and [Christian] Veilleux,” Franklin said on how Penn State is splitting practice reps between his two backup quarterback options behind Clifford.
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Roberson was the backup option called don two weeks ago against Iowa after Clifford was removed from the game midway through the second quarter due to an undisclosed injury. Roberson did not perform very well, but he was also thrown into an incredibly tough spot on the road in a difficult environment against an Iowa defense that smelled blood in the water.
But if Clifford is not available this week, Roberson may have to prove he is worthy of the opportunity to Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich in practice.
“Someone asked me, will it be a competition? I think it’s always a competition but it’s probably magnified a little bit,” Franklin said during his weekly press conference. “We’re looking at those guys real closely in practice.”
Like Penn State, Illinois could potentially be without its starting QB this weekend
Penn State isn’t the only team in this weekend’s matchup with some uncertainty revolving around the status of its starting quarterback. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema says he is unsure if the Illini will have their starting quarterback available or not as well.
Brandon Peters was taken out of a game at Wisconsin two weeks ago with an undisclosed injury. Peters was taken out after being sacked in the second quarter. Now, after a bye week, Illinois is still unsure if Peters will be available for their road trip to Penn State this weekend.
While speaking to reporters on Monday, Bielema confirmed Peters has not been cleared to return to the field yet. As of Monday afternoon, there was no further update on the status of Peters amid a number of injury updates.
#Illini Bielema on injuries: Brandon Peters not cleared yet, waiting on tests back from Jake Hansen but don’t expect him back this week. Mike Epstein likely out for year. Likely getting Deuce Spann and Seth Coleman back
Peters has been banged up this season, so Illinois has had to roll with former Rutgers quarterback Artur Sitkowski a bunch of times this season. Sitkowski has made a case for arguably being the more reliable option for the Illini with a slightly higher completion percentage, six touchdowns to one for Peters and just four sacks taken as opposed to the 11 Peters has taken this season.
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No matter who is playing quarterback for the Illini, they will face a stiff challenge from the Penn State defense. After taking a loss at Iowa, Penn State’s defense will be looking to set the tone for a rebound in front of their home fans this week.
Penn State, of course, is also facing some uncertainty with its quarterback position. Sean Clifford left Penn State’s most recent game two weeks ago at Iowa and there has been no significant update on his status in the short term. Penn State went with Ta’Quan Roberson in relief of the injured Clifford for the remainder of the Iowa game and it was far from effective. But a home game with extra time to get in some practice reps should make for a much different story against Illinois this week if it comes to that.
Mid-season evaluation: Can Penn State survive without Sean Clifford?
Penn State has reached the midway point of the season with a perfectly placed bye week in Week 7. What better way to spend time during the bye week than by beginning to assess everything that has happened thus far and determine where things go from here for the Nittany Lions?
And it feels appropriate that the mid-season evaluations begins with the biggest issue facing Penn State coming out of a tough loss at Iowa, and that is the quarterback situation. After a perfectly fine start to the season by a clearly much more confident Sean Clifford, his injury during the Iowa game and uncertainty for the immediate future has cast a much darker cloud over the passing game in Happy Valley. And with the results put on display against Iowa with Ta’Quan Roberson stepping in for the injured Clifford, there is rising doubt about just how effective the Penn State offense, and specifically the passing game, can be with a tough slate ahead of them in the second half.
Year-to-Date Summary
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
The 2021 season was destined to be a Sean Clifford or bust type of season following the transfer of Will Levis to Kentucky (where he is enjoying life as the starter for the Wildcats, by the way). After coming up dry on the search for a transfer option in the offseason, Penn State decided to roll the dice with hopes riding on Clifford staying on the field. And for a while, that seemed to work just fine.
Under the coaching of new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich, Clifford significantly cut down on his bad judgments and unforced errors and began showing more patience and awareness. As such, Penn State’s offense became much more efficient and effective. Clifford managed to begin spreading the ball around without having to feel like every play had to be going through Jahan Dotson. Clifford’s ability to spread the ball to Parker Washignton and his tight ends Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson proved to be effective. Through the first five games of the season, Clifford was intercepted just three times, and only one was arguably considered an actual mistake by Clifford.
In his most recent game, Clifford overcame an early mistake against Iowa — an interception at the Penn State 8-yard line on the first offensive snap of the game for the Nittany Lions — to lead Penn State to two efficient touchdown drives in the first quarter against an Iowa defense that was allowing just over 12 points per game this season. Clifford’s first, and only, series in the second quarter resulted in a field goal to put Penn State up 17-3 at the time.
But that was the last we saw of Clifford. Clifford went to the Penn State locker room after that possession and did not return to the playing field.
Penn State hopes to get Sean Clifford back as soon as possible, but don’t expect James Franklin to provide much info.
Penn State’s outcome against Iowa took a hard left turn the moment starting quarterback Sean Clifford made his way to the locker room midway through the second quarter and returned to the sideline after halftime in street clothes. The dynamic of the game against Iowa shifted entirely in Iowa’s favor as the Hawkeyes feasted on an immobile Penn State offense without Clifford at the helm. So naturally, the biggest question facing Penn State moving forward is when will Sean Clifford return to the playing field?
Or perhaps more importantly, will he return?
As of Monday morning when this post was written, there has been no word on what Clifford’s status will be moving forward. The only thing is, Penn State head coach James Franklin is not likely to share much information about Clifford. Franklin has a history of not revealing much information with regard to personal injuries barring any major significant injury situation. If the worst-case scenario plays out and Clifford is done for the season, then Franklin would be likely to confirm such news. There is no indication we have reached that point, fortunately.
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Franklin did not have an update to share on Clifford following Penn State’s loss to Iowa on Saturday, but he will likely be asked again for one during his regularly scheduled Tuesday media availabilities. Whether or not Franklin shares any information about Clifford remains to be seen, but any news not about a season-ending injury could be perceived to be optimistic.
Penn State actually reaches the bye week at a good time considering the injury status for Clifford. The hope would be Clifford benefits from having a week off to recover from whatever the medical issue may be. If it is not deemed to be a severe injury, perhaps Clifford can come back in two weekends when Penn State hosts Illinois. Or, maybe the following week for a road game at Ohio State.
If Clifford is unable to return in two weeks for Illinois, then the bye week also comes at a fortunate time so Mike Yurcich can work more with TaQuan Roberson to have him more prepared for the starting job against the Illini. We can cross the Ohio State matchup when we get there, but it should be expected Roberson would be much more successful as a starter against Illinois at home than he was as a backup option on the road against Iowa.
But the fate of the season rides on Clifford at this point. His loss against Iowa was clearly significant. A Penn State offense without Clifford facing the schedule Penn State has in front of them could make for a bumpy ride to the finish line.
Let’s take a look at the report card and grade the performance of Penn State today.
Quarterbacks: D+
Joseph Cress-USA TODAY Sports
There were certainly a few flashes here in there from Sean Clifford, but the quarterback play was not there today once Clifford was knocked out of the game. The offense was off to a bad start, but then slowly started to get things going. Overall, it wasn’t the best performance from the quarterbacks.
