The big talk surrounding Penn State football this week is the quarterback position.
It took up most of coach James Franklin’s weekly press conference Tuesday, and the team’s matchup at Indiana this weekend feels secondary.
All anybody seems to care about is who Penn State will start at QB: Freshman sensation Drew Allar or sixth-year veteran Sean Clifford.
But Penn State’s players, such as tight end Brenton Strange, have to focus on beating Indiana this Saturday in Bloomington, and Strange feels either QB can put the team in a position to do that.
“Whoever coach decides to throw in there, whoever the staff decides to roll with,” Strange told reporters via zoom Wednesday morning. “I haven’t really heard of any of these conversations, but I’m really confident in both of those guys.”
Strange made note of Allar, a former five-star recruit out of Medina High School in Ohio, enrolling early at Penn State. He also feels Clifford has helped Allar learn some of the position’s essential tools.
“Having Drew in the spring was really good to get him up to pace,” Strange said, “and I think he’s picked up on some of the stuff that Sean does, preparing-wise.”
Whatever QB Penn State starts will have Strange as an asset. The redshirt junior from Parkersburg, West Virginia, has established himself as Penn State’s top tight end, leading the room in catches (21), yards (258) and touchdowns (4). With four touchdowns, Strange is tied with receiver Mitchell Tinsley for the most of any Penn State pass-catching target.
Strange is prepared to continue to catch passes throughout Penn State’s final four regular-season games, regardless of who he’s catching them from.
“Whoever coach decides to throw in,” he said, “I think they’ll be ready, and I think they’ll do a great job.”
