Penn State's Quarterbacks Making Progress in New Offense
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford clicked quickly with new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca at the Cotton Bowl, then got to know his coach's tics through spring online meetings.
Now, Clifford and his fellow quarterbacks are translating that relationship to the field, as Penn State continues workouts toward a Sept. 30 restart of training camp.
So far, so good, Ciarrocca said.
"That was something that they realized; the importance of us getting on the same wavelength and thinking the exact same way when presented with situations," Ciarrocca said on a recent edition of the Penn State Coaches Show. "That's been going on for a while, and I love the progress they're making. It's not like they started with a blank slate: These guys have been well-coached, and they had some good sound thought processes already."
Clifford and Ciarrocca have established their base, but what about the other quarterbacks? Ciarrocca has four on scholarship, including true freshman Micah Bowens who is getting his first looks in Penn State's offense.
Here's what Ciarrocca had to say about each.
Will Levis: "Will’s a guy who has a high level of intelligence, a lot of talent and a big arm. It might be as strong an arm as I've been around. Will doesn't have quite the amount of experiences that Sean has had, so he's still learning some of the things that Sean has experienced out there. But he's a super-talented, super-tough guy who can beat you with his arms and his legs."
Ta'Quan Roberson: "He's really growing. I've seen a tremendous amount of improvement with him. His mind is really starting to work a lot out a lot more. For him, he's always been able to just go out there and play and his talent has taken over. But I think he understands the value of being able to process information before the snap. ... He has talent. He's here for a reason, and now we just have to let him grow and develop it."
Micah Bowens: "Everything is new for him. He didn't have the head start that these guys had. Micah's a talented young man. I think it's really hard to evaluate a quarterback until you've given them enough time to learn everything and given them enough repetitions that he's still not thinking on every single play when the ball is snapped. At quarterback, you have to do all your thinking before the ball is snapped. When the ball is snapped, now you have to react. I'm pleased with Micah and his work and the talent he has."
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