Staturdays

Tommy Stevens

  • Stickler for PSU

    How does anyone start off writing their first article? Well, um … hi!

    I’m Brian (semi-new to Staturdays) and I wanted to introduce myself seeing that I’m going to be writing more and more for this blog this upcoming college football season. If you follow me on Twitter (@Brian_Stickler) you know that I have very intense specific interests and tastes in things – which makes it somewhat hard to follow me I think. To be honest, I am not sure why anyone follows me. Unless you’re super into Penn State Football, the New York Yankees, Breaking Bad, and like a whole bunch of miscellaneous movies and TV shows that I happen to be watching at that moment, I’m not sure that the package of information I send out into the world is all that relevant to you. So assuming that you don’t know my twitter account and frankly don’t care either, I’d like to start by telling you a little bit about me and my relationship to college football, and specifically Penn State.

    I am a novice college football fan. In fact, before I attended Penn State as a freshman I don’t think I ever even watched a college football game in my life. During a tour of campus when I was 16 years old, a tour guide told the group that we would all become the biggest football fans in the world after spending a few years at school. She was definitely right … but not immediately. Admittedly, the Christian Hackenberg era didn’t do much for me right off the cuff. I did love the atmosphere of the games, the tailgating, and the community that surrounded the football games – but it wasn’t until Penn State started really winning that I became really invested.

    Does that make me a bad fan? I don’t think so. In a class I took with our beloved StaturDAD, Kyle, we learned that the product on field is what makes the difference for attendance, more than any other external factor (such as promos, weather, cost, etc.). I don’t know much, but what I can tell you is that that is unequivocally true. When Penn State beat Ohio State in the 2016 white out game there was a clear difference in the way the community behaved. The campus and surrounding areas came alive and it hasn’t died down yet, not 3 years later. Penn State Football demanded our attention, and boy did it suck me right in. I was hooked and since then I haven’t been able to unattach myself, even if I wanted to. I became a superfan – living and breathing Blue and White during the fall and craving even the heartbreak of a 3-hour rain delay loss to Michigan State during the summer. I love the games, the anticipation, the atmosphere, the players, the coaches, and especially my peers. But that last one is where I feel I differ from the rest of the twitter-verse – and this should give you a good look at what to expect from me in the future. Here are a few things that fundamentally define my fandom:

    • I do not think the backup quarterback should be starting. I am sure Will Levis is an unbelievably talented player and has tremendous potential to be a huge impact at Penn State. I am sure that Tommy Stevens did too. But QB is a really hard job … a really hard job. Our friend Sean Clifford (4 Heisman) is going to be a first-year starter for the Nittany Lions this season, and while there will be times where he will shine, there will also be times where he will struggle. That doesn’t mean he sucks or should be replaced — that means he is growing and learning on the field in one of the most competitive environments in all of college sports. Twitter was ready to write off Trace McSorely during the Michigan game last year. Yes, #9 was getting monstrous hate every single pick or incompletion. That absolutely baffled me. He was arguably the best QB in the history of Penn State, and a large portion of the fan base thought his backup was going to be better than him. What are the odds of that? Kyle? Drew? You are the stat guys, let me know the probability that anyone was going to outperform the PSU leader in almost every measurable offensive statistic. It’s unlikely. We need to trust our coaches and know that they evaluate talent much different (and way better) than we do. Which brings me to my next point…
    • I am not one to call for the firing of coaches off the cuff. I will not use the heinous hashtag, #FireFranklin, every single time Penn State loses a football game. You know why? Because it is ridiculous. There are not many proven coaches in college football like James Franklin right now, and I am curious where all these fans calling for his head would like to find his replacement. How many active coaches right now have won a Big Ten Championship? The answer is 2 – and we have one of them. The truth is, sometimes coaches do need to go – like David Corley (PSU WR Coach) after a horrid year for the receiving core. I am just far more comfortable with someone who knows more than me making that decision. I said before, I know almost nothing – but here are two things I do know.
      1. Penn State exceeded all expectations following the sanctions in 2011
      2. I like people who like Penn State

    This is why I like Franklin — He wins with integrity, he recruits competitively with the best teams in the country, and he leads with clear direction — all of which demand respect and exude warmth. The guy is a really good coach, and just because we lost a few games doesn’t mean he should go. That, and he’s going to lead the Nittany Lions to a national championship during his tenure. @OldTakesExposed.

    • I root for the guys in Blue and White. All I have been saying over and over again is that I really don’t know much other than that I want to see us perform well. I am not an athlete, a coach, or a scout – I am simply a fan. So when there is someone on my screen in Nittany Lion gear, I am going to root for that dude to kick ass. I will not root for someone on this team to fail so that another can get an opportunity.

    Those three points make up my fundamental beliefs about sports and Penn State in general. It is important to make that clear because if you are looking for an overly emotional reactional blog this is not necessarily the place for you to get that release.

    It’ll come up over and over again throughout the season, but I cannot wait to experience that joy, excitement, anticipation, and even heartbreak with you all over the next 16 weeks. Let’s watch some college football together. Man does it feel good to be saying that again! We Are!

    Your Pal,

    Brian

  • Penn State has a Transfer Portal Crisis

    “I don’t think that he’ll be welcome back at this point if he wanted to come back.”

    Tommy Stevens’ dad

    Penn State Football might have a crisis on their hands. This past week, one of their biggest talents over the past 4 years and starting quarterback-in-waiting, Tommy Stevens, put his name into the transfer portal. While some fans rejoiced at the confirmation that the “much better” Sean Clifford – who has reached demigod status for his 5/7, 2 TD statline last season – was solidified in the starting role for 2019, others asked the more important question: Why is your best player leaving the team so suddenly?

    Just the other day after the Blue-White game, James Franklin himself said they were waiting to name a starter until Tommy Stevens was healthy enough to make it a true competition. By Wednesday, Tommy’s name was in the portal and by Thursday his dad was saying “I don’t think that he’ll be welcome back at this point if he wanted to come back.” He also mentioned that the relationship between Tommy and the “Penn State coaching staff” had gradually deteriorated, making him uncomfortable continuing to compete for the starting position.

    So that made me wonder if this was normal for a top program. The transfer portal is in its first full offseason of use this year, so it’s relatively new to all of us. Maybe having 19 transfers in a year is normal for a roster of over 100 players. Especially at a top program like Penn State where the environment is hyper-competitive and starting roles are hard to come by. Sure, plenty of guys would want out of that if they don’t make the cut. But 20-percent?

    So let’s look at a few of the other top schools that we’d like to be in the same sentence with: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, LSU, Georgia. How’s their transfer situation looking?

    TransferPortalActivity

    Oh no. That’s not good. Penn State has more than 2x the outgoing transfers as the next closest major program. Not a good sign. I would’ve expected a bit more activity from an Ohio State with a new head coach. It turns out all the truly “elite” programs are run that way and don’t have a lot of locker room turnover, aside from graduating players to the NFL.

    I certainly expected more players to leave Pitt. I mean – “Eat Shit Pitt” – right? That’s what we say. You’d think the players would get tired of hearing that. But nope, just two transfers out (offset by two coming in).

    Ok, but Rutgers must have more people trying to jump ship than Penn State, right? No? Seriously? I mean, it’s Rutgers. Only seven people want to leave Rutgers early. Heck, three even said “Sign me up!” this offseason. Now I’m concerned.

    Now granted, we have to take some of these departures with a grain of salt. Manny Bowen has always been a bum and a traitor, going as far as tweeting and making fun of his former teammates as they lost a heartbreaking Citrus Bowl. He’s been suspended longer than my ceiling fan (bad dad joke).

    Then there’s Tommy Stevens. Who can blame him? He’s sat behind one of the most electric QBs in college football for 4 years, patiently waiting his turn, when he could’ve been starting at any Power-5 school. He’s got to do what’s best for him. What is concerning is the quotes above from his dad.

    Then, of course, there’s the wide-receiver corp. 6 of the 19 transfers for Penn State were wide-receivers. This was the biggest position unit, followed by the DBs with 5. Now everyone is well-aware of the drops situation this past year, and these players got a lot of shit for it. This likely affected them a lot more mentally than us fans realize. Pair that with a new wide-receivers coach coming in to shake things up, and you can see why a lot of these guys would want a new environment. 

    So overall, I’d say we have some extenuating circumstances that have driven a high number of guys to part ways with Penn State Football this past season. That being said, every team has their troubles and turnover season-to-season, so that alone isn’t a great excuse. The fact that Penn State is so far out ahead of every other major program is a bit concerning.

    It’s something we should keep an eye on. And it may be something that Franklin may need to address down the road, whether it is with the mental toughness of the team or his locker room management style. 

    For more on the Tommy Stevens transfer, listen to our latest episode of the Staturdays podcast below. 

    https://soundcloud.com/staturdays-blog/blue-white-recap-tommy-stevens-is-out