(Updated 6:40 p.m.: A report from the CDT's John McGonigal indicates the door has closed on Tommy Stevens' possible return to the Nittany Lions and that the fifth-year graduate quarterback will indeed transfer out of the program.)

Context can change dramatically in the span of just a few days.

No clearer case exists than the Nittany Lions’ situation at quarterback, which at best is now unclear following the addition of Tommy Stevens’ name to the NCAA Transfer Portal, and more likely has transformed from a fierce preseason competition into one favored to win by rising redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford.

The fifth-year graduate quarterback, at minimum, opening the doors to a final season of eligibility spent wearing colors other than navy and white, Penn State instead must proceed through the offseason with Clifford penciled into the top signal-caller spot, with rising redshirt freshman Will Levis in line as a primary backup.

Whether or not Penn State head coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne knew that impending reality or not, their comments throughout the spring and the post-Blue White Game can shed light into what might be expected now.

And from the sounds of all involved, this is a program that has confidence in Clifford, with or without Stevens on board.

“I think the thing that I’ve probably been most impressed with him is how competitive he is. You see it in the weight room, you see it in winter workouts,” Franklin said just days before the Blue-White Game following a spring practice session. “He is highly, highly competitive. Almost to the point when he first got here that he was hard to coach because he was so prideful and so competitive in everything that he did.”

That pride and competitiveness have translated positively in the time since, Franklin continued.

“Because of that competitiveness and because of how prideful he is, he went from what I think people would probably list as a pro-style quarterback to I think a guy that is a legitimate dual-threat guy that can hurt you in many ways,” said Franklin, “because he’s worked so hard at changing his body and getting stronger and getting more explosive. I’ve been pleased. He’s a guy that the game comes pretty natural to in terms of finding the open receiver. His off the field habits are really good.”

Rahne has seen as much first-hand this offseason.

Directing Clifford as the primary quarterback for taking first-team reps this spring, Stevens limited from live work due to unspecified injury concerns, the transition that saw Clifford work his way from a self-described 6-foot-1, 185-pound high school prospect out of Saint Xavier in Cincinnati, to one that lined up at 6-2, 218 this spring, became plain to see.

“If you look at me coming in freshman year, it’s a lot different than me coming in now,” Clifford told reporters this spring. “I’ve put on weight, but I’ve also lost a lot of fat. That’s just a testament to our strength staff and how good big Deej is and all those guys are. For me, it’s just working hard and getting with them to get my nutrition right.”

In his first career on-field action as a redshirt freshman in 2018, that progress already demonstrated itself.

Finishing the season appearing in four games at quarterback, Clifford completed 5 of 7 passes for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Most notably, he now owns a record for the longest pass completion in program history, connecting with fellow redshirt freshman Daniel George for a 95-yard score against Kent State.

A comparatively shallow reservoir of career game experience to that of Stevens, who has played in 23 games over three seasons, carried the ball 76 times for 506 yards and eight touchdowns, has 14 career receptions and two scores in the air, and has completed 24 of 41 passes for 304 yards and four scores, with just one interception, Clifford’s gains through his nearly two full years on Penn State’s campus have nonetheless caught the attention of his coaches and teammates.

“Coach Galt is a great trainer and Sean works really, really hard. So I think that's the thing that he does the best,” said Rahne. “And then his competitive spirit is going to keep working himself into a great athlete, and quite frankly, he definitely is a more natural athlete than people give him credit for.

“He's always had natural, gifted skills, just some people didn't see them. So he's getting better every day and we're pleased with the progress he made this spring in that area.”

And with Stevens’ future with the Nittany Lions at best an uncertainty, Clifford’s perspective on lessons learned this spring - both for himself as well as for the team as a whole - becomes that much more relevant.

“We’re just a tough team. We know what we have to get better at, and—we just talked about this in the locker room—we’re ready to take that next step,” Clifford said following Saturday’s Blue-White Game. “I think a lot of guys are excited because we know what type of talent we have. We know we’re a top-tier team.”

Now potentially holding the opportunity to demonstrate as much, Clifford very much intends to do so.