In his Tuesday press conference, Penn State head coach James Franklin said that Tommy Stevens will be available to face Illinois on Friday night. Stevens has yet to play this season, but was in uniform on Saturday for Kent State. Per Franklin, “If we needed Tommy last week we could have played Tommy last week. So we're just probably being a little more cautious than probably we need to be.” Stevens was spotted warming up on Saturday before the game, but never saw action as Penn State pulled away to a 63-10 victory.

This is very good news as Penn State begins conference play on Friday at Illinois. Back in March, our Craig Fritz did an article on Stevens’ impact on the 2018 team and the “Lion” package that revolves around his numerous talents, having already thrown, rushed and caught a touchdown in his career.

Penn State is off to a 3-0 start without Stevens. In his absense, redshirt freshman Sean Clifford was able to see some action against Pitt and Kent State. Clifford has only thrown four passes, but he’s completed all four, including two havefor touchdowns. That includes a school-record 95-yard touchdown on Saturday to Daniel George.

How Stevens will be used Friday remains to be seen, but it seems likely he sees action as Penn State moves into the heart of the Big Ten season.