UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Pat Devlin committed to Miami the summer before his record-setting senior year in high school.

But a few weeks before signing day in February 2006, the heavily recruited quarterback changed his mind and decided to attend Penn State.

Devlin was comfortable with his choice. His parents both went to school here, his mother was a cheerleader, and his grandfather lives in State College.

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At a glance

• What: Penn State Blue-White spring game.
• When: 2 p.m. today, Beaver Stadium.
• Radio: WEAE (1250-AM).
• Of note: The game will be replayed on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. Monday.

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More than two years later, Devlin has yet to make an impact on the football field. He is running No. 2 behind starting quarterback Daryll Clark entering the Blue-White scrimmage today at Beaver Stadium.

"I have confidence in my abilities, and we've both been playing real well this spring," said Devlin, who will be a redshirt sophomore this fall. "I just think it'll be up to the coaches to make that decision, and it'll be up to us to play as hard as we can to help the coaches make that decision."

Devlin, 6 feet 4, 224 pounds, doesn't have the experience that Clark does. Devlin redshirted as a freshman and played sparingly in four games last season, throwing one incompletion.

But he lugged some pretty lofty credentials with him to Penn State. Devlin was a 2005 Parade All-American and Pennsylvania's top Class AAAA player of the year at Downingtown East. He also holds the state's all-time career high school passing record with 8,162 yards.

Devlin said "it's been real tough" backing up former starter Anthony Morelli and Clark the past two years.

"You might get a little rusty," Devlin said. "You're on the scout team and you might develop some bad habits. ... But I was able to learn from Anthony, and hopefully, I'm a better quarterback for it."

Devlin is a classic dropback passer known for his strong arm. Clark, 6-2, 228, is a multipurpose quarterback who can run and throw, but he hasn't had to do much of the latter.

Clark, a senior and one-time academic non-qualifier who is on track to regain another year of eligibility, meaning he would have two seasons left, played in eight games last season. He completed 6 of 9 passes for 31 yards but did run for 50 yards on six carries and scored a touchdown in the Nittany Lions' 24-17 victory against Texas A&M at the Alamo Bowl in December.

Receiver Deon Butler has been impressed with the play and demeanor of both quarterbacks this spring.

"Daryll, obviously, he's a strong kid," Butler said. "One of his strengths is just running the ball. He's not going to run like a regular quarterback. He's going to run like a running back.

"If you get to know [Pat] and his character, he's a real up-front kind of guy. He's bold. He's not afraid to say what he feels. That's one of the good things about him.

"He kind of has a Brett Favre thing about him. He's the type of guy that will get into a fight with a defensive lineman during a scrimmage. He's definitely not afraid to step up and say how he feels and call out seniors."

Clark, from Ursuline High in Youngstown, Ohio, ran almost exclusively with the first-team offense in a scrimmage last Saturday at Beaver Stadium. He exhibited a strong arm and good accuracy and has an edge in his battle with Devlin because of his experience.

"I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far this spring," Clark said. "I think it's been very productive and I've gotten better. I'm very confident that I can run this team and lead a successful offense."

Devlin is not ready to concede the starting job to Clark.

"I don't see it that way at all," Devlin said. "I think it all comes down to whoever makes the best reads, the right reads, and whoever does the right things with the football."