Stevens adds name to NCAA Transfer Portal

Rising fifth-year graduate quarterback Tommy Stevens has added his name to the NCAA's Transfer Portal, Blue White Illustrated has confirmed with a source.

Stevens can now evaluate other options as a graduate transfer, in which he'd be immediately eligible, but also maintains the ability to return for his final season of eligibility at Penn State.

The decision comes days after a report from the Centre Daily Times quoting his father, Tom Stevens, first publicly indicating the possibility.

“Tommy has so much invested in this year, and we know that this is his last shot. If he’s not Penn State’s quarterback, he’s going to be somebody’s quarterback,” he said to the CDT. “Everyone already knows, if he’s not playing at Penn State this year, he’s probably going to leave. I don’t think that’s much news to anybody. He wants to be a starter. ... If it’s not Tommy, then I think Sean would do a great job, and we would wish Penn State the best of luck.”

Stevens spent the spring mostly on the sidelines with the Nittany Lions, limited due to unspecified injury, in a move that was described as a precautionary measure. In his absence during live work, quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Will Levis received the majority of the reps.

Even so, Penn State offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne rejected the notion that he was concerned about Stevens' lack of live reps taken through the program's spring practice session.

“I'm not concerned," said Rahne. "Obviously, I'd love for him to get in as much work as he can, but concern probably isn't the right word. I wish he would have been able to get some reps and things like that, but he got in there in the skelly reps and he looked like he hadn't missed a day. So he looked really good. He's thrown the ball well when he could throw the ball this spring. He's been itching to get back in there. We had to pull him back and say 'Whoa,' which is what you want in a competitor like that. So I'm really happy with the spring actually.”

Expressing his own confidence in Stevens, thanks to his years of experience playing alongside Trace McSorley in a variety of roles the past three seasons, head coach James Franklin was asked following the Blue-White Game about a timeline on making a decision for the starting job, presumably between Stevens and Clifford.

“I’m a big believer in competition at every single position. We haven’t named a starter at any position,” said Franklin, comparing Stevens’ situation to that of Garrett Taylor, who will be a presumed starter at safety in advance of the 2019 season. “We were put in a tough spot because he had an injury that made it difficult. We want to be able to name the starter as soon as we possibly can, but we are not ready to do that right now and it’s going to need to be more of a true competition.

“Tommy has done everything right for four years, there’s been a huge body of work that we’ve seen from him, and I think last year, in a lot of ways, wasn’t fair for him because he was playing with an injury; a pretty significant injury. Our coaching staff has all the belief in the world in Tommy. Our coaching staff understands what Tommy has done and who he can be, but we also have belief in the other guys, and we’ve created real good competition in our quarterback room. We’ll see how this plays out. We’d like to name one as soon as we can, but based on how things have played out, I don’t know when that will happen.”

Sitting for a lengthy interview with Blue White Illustrated before the start of Penn State's spring practices, Stevens described his approach to the ensuing competition for the starting job in McSorley's absence.

"I don't want to speak for Cliff, but I bet he's probably approaching it the exact same way as I am. And at the end of the day, it was how me and Trace approached it when the job was up for grabs then, too," said Stevens. "There's no way that he doesn't think that it's his job as much as I think that it's my job. But at the end of the day, like how me and Trace did it, we can't let that interfere with making the team as good as we can.

"To be blunt, both of us are going to come in, compete as hard as we can and whatever happens, happens. But I'm comfortable with where I am. Finally healthy. And I'm excited. I'm excited for the opportunity because it's been a long time."

How Stevens' decision to enter the NCAA's Transfer Portal impacts that competition, or timeline, remains to be seen.