STATE COLLEGE — No one quite knows what to expect from the new Penn State quarterback. Sean Clifford and Will Levis will compete for Trace McSorley’s old job this month and head coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne will pick their guy when they are good and ready.

It’s a safe bet that, at the moment, it’s Clifford’s job to lose. He ran with the first-team in the spring and all the reviews about his performance and character are just about raves.

And if Clifford wins the job, maybe, just maybe, this offense won’t look much different in scheme than the one McSorley ran.

Because here is a little something that most people don’t know — Clifford is not only bigger than McSorley, he’s faster.

That wasn’t always the case. But James Franklin strongly hinted at it during his Big Ten Media Days stop in Chicago, and Clifford confirmed it on Saturday afternoon.

McSorley, Penn State’s three-year starter, ran for almost 800 yards and scored 12 touchdowns on the ground last season. The 200-pounder shredded the Ohio State defense last fall with 175 rushing yards in the Lions’ one-point defeat.

Prior to being selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of last April’s draft, McSorley ran a 4.57 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine.

Trace was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country during his three-year run as PSU starter.

Clifford? He can definitely spin it, as evidenced by his 95-yard touchdown pass to Daniel George last September. But are we overlooking what the redshirt sophomore can do on the ground?

Yes. The answer is yes.

“I mean, I did run 4.5 here,’’ Clifford said, noting that his career-best 40 time occurred this year.

“I definitely ran (close to) or better than Trace did. It’s (my) new best, for sure. I haven’t run this fast since, ever.’’

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford cracks a smile during the 17th Annual Penn State Lift for Life held in Holuba Hall on July 12, 2019. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com

Franklin is hopeful that the Penn State pass game will be more efficient in 2019. McSorley completed just 53 percent of his passes a year ago. To be fair, the Lions’ receivers dropped a lot of his throws and McSorley was playing on an injured leg for roughly half the season.

But there will definitely be a strong quarterback running component to the Lions’ offense.

“I remember a couple years ago, pulling (Clifford) to the side and saying, ‘The one concern that I have, you know, you check all the boxes but the one concern I have is that you’ve got to be able to show athletically that you can bring these other things to the table that we need, that we need in our offense as a threat’, " Franklin said in Chicago.

“I think he was running in the 4.8s (at one point) and in our last testing event, I think he tested faster than Trace did. So I think that’s been very helpful.”

Franklin later added: “Actually, I think that we’re going to be doing a lot of similar things with Sean and with Levis.”

Which would be fine with Clifford.

He ran the ball quite a bit during his high school days at St. Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio. And if a 25-carry, 175-yard day is necessary to beat Ohio State in Columbus this fall, Clifford is all for it.

“I could definitely run (the offense) how Trace did it,’’ Clifford said.

“I think a lot of people just haven’t seen me run. So I’m just excited to show that.

“My state championship game, I think I ran over 125, 150 (yards). If that needs to be done, then that needs to be done and I’m going to do it.’’

The more interesting question is this: How has Clifford become faster after gaining a significant amount of weight?

He’s added roughly 25 pounds to his 6-2 frame since arriving in State College. Clifford is listed at 216 on the PSU roster.

“I think it’s just working at it,’’ Clifford said.

“I’ve found that the more fat that I can lose, the faster I’ve gotten. Every time I take a percentage off my body fat, I get a half-tenth (of a second) better. … I’ve just been taking better care of my body.’’