QB Tommy Stevens staying at PSU

It hasn’t just been on social media and internet message boards. It’s been the talk across campus, in the Lasch Building, coach offices and the locker room. Tommy Stevens has barely been able to eat in peace with his girlfriend without being pestered with the question: Are you transferring?

On Wednesday night, the redshirt junior backup quarterback put to rest the speculation, by announcing after Penn State’s fifth practice session of the spring that he’ll be staying put right where he is. In doing so, he acknowledged that the buzz that surrounded him since the end of the 2017 season wasn’t just speculation after all. With graduation looming just over a month away, Stevens’ eligibility aligns with the NCAA’s post-graduate transfer waiver, which would allow him to play immediately if he had decided to leave to another Division I destination.

“I did some searching around and looked to see if there was a better place for me somewhere and I talked to some schools,” Stevens said, without mentioning specific programs. “Ultimately, I know what I have here. I love Penn State. I love the relationships that I have here and I love playing football with my best friends, so ultimately after looking around I found out this is still the best place for me and this is what I want to do moving forward.”

Stevens has spent the better part of the three months exploring his options, but he did not do it in secret.

Once he decided that he would pursue a possible transfer following the Fiesta Bowl, he presented the idea up front to head coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Ricky Rahne.

“They were very supportive of it in the very beginning,” Stevens said. “I told them what I was doing. They were very up front with me, told me they were going to support me either way and that they wanted the best situation for me. I told them from the beginning what I wanted to do. They told me this is what we we’re going to do if you decide to stay.”

What that means exactly in terms of the weekly game plan next fall remains to be seen.

It was during bowl practices in December when the coaches stamped a new “LION” position on the official depth chart with Stevens’ name as the only one listed. Against Washington, however, Stevens finished the game with a stat line of only three receptions for minus-1 yard.

Franklin maintained throughout the season that it was game-scenario dependent regarding the use of Stevens as a complementary piece in certain formations with starting QB Trace McSorley. Some games it was used a lot; others it was less, or not at all. Now McSorley is entering his senior year, but with Stevens choosing to return, a more regular role in the offense could be in the offing.

“I do expect, I guess, an increased role next season,” Stevens added.

It was Franklin who broke the news that Stevens was staying at PSU first, when he told the gathered reporters inside Holuba Hall. And he did so with effusive praise of the signal caller from Indianapolis, Ind.

“Tommy and his family handled this situation unbelievably well,” said Franklin. “He was very honest. I think we all see what’s going on in college football. There are a lot of people taking the path of least resistance and transferring when times get tough or when adversity hits. Tommy obviously came in to talk to us. It was something that he was possibly considering. He just handled it so well, so we said, Well, look. Let’s talk about this. Let’s explore this. We don’t ever want you leaving unless it’s the right situation. If it’s the right situation for you and your family, we are going to be as supportive as you possibly can imagine with this, but if you don’t find the situation that just doesn’t make completes sense then you should come back, because you know what you’re getting with us as coaches, you know what you’re getting with your teammates and the scheme and all these different things. He’s earned so much respect from our team, so obviously as a coach I’m elated that Tommy is going to stay with us. More so than that, just how he handled it, how he handled the whole process. I’m really proud of him because this is how you handle situations in life.”

Stevens made it a point that his own deliberation did not to drag on too long. His teammates were giving him his space, but he was starting to feel the pressure from fellow students on campus or the general public. The conversation was starting to gear around him, and that he didn’t want.

So last week he came to his decision. Then today, before publicizing his choice to media, he told his team first. With that came a weight of relief similar to what he had felt when he originally selected the Nittany Lions out of Decatur Central High School.

“It was like a second recruiting process and it was worst than the first,” Stevens said. “It was a little bit harder because of the timetable. I’m glad that it’s over. I’m glad that I can stop being a distraction to my teammates. … That’s not really what I wanted. I guess we can just focus on football now and get back to work and start grinding for next season.”

Prior to his impromptu press conference on the Holuba Hall turf, Stevens was watching Penn State’s fifth spring practice session from a motorized wheelchair and was not participating in drills.

Sidelined due to injury, Stevens said he’s using the time out of pads in ways that are to his advantage. Although he’s unable to throw live routes or run plays with his offense, he’s running each rep through his brain in an attempt to observe the minutia of the game from a different vantage point.

“I think that’s where I need to grow the most, is mentally still,” Stevens said. “I’ve taken big strides since I’ve gotten here. I think actually stepping away and seeing it from a different perspective is different, but it’s challenging me in a different way.”

With Stevens out of action, more room has been made for redshirt freshman Sean Clifford to see an added number of repetitions with the offense.

“He’s getting a lot of reps right now,” Franklin said. “Tommy’s not getting the reps that we would like. I think that creates an opportunity for Sean to get a bunch of reps in practice, a next-man-up mentality across the board, and he needs it. …”

“A lot of times and you get frustrated (by injury) but a lot of times they’re a blessing in disguise because that next guy on the list gets a bunch of reps and now you’ve created a lot of depth.”