“Good things come to those who wait” is a common cliché, but it couldn’t be more true for Penn State football’s Tommy Stevens.

Stevens could have transferred away from Happy Valley in favor of a more prominent role on another team, but he stuck with his teammates and will remain a Nittany Lion for the final two seasons of eligibility that he has.

Penn State’s coaching staff has tried to get the Indianapolis native involved in the offense this season, but he was thrust into more action than usual because of extenuating circumstances.

McSorley suffered an apparent lower-body injury in the second quarter of Penn State’s 30-24 victory over No. 18 Iowa on Saturday afternoon, and Tommy Stevens played two series in his place.

Stevens’ numbers on Saturday may not be that spectacular — he completed two of his four passes for 27 yards and rushed for 18 more on five carries. However, his impact on today’s game and Penn State’s program as a whole couldn’t be more significant.

John Reid’s second-quarter interception set up the Nittany Lions with excellent field position inside of Iowa’s 5-yard line. Stevens did what he does best on the only play of the drive: He punched in a tough, three-yard touchdown to even the score at 14 when Penn State’s sloppy performance warranted anything but a tie game.

Head coach James Franklin would obviously prefer to have McSorley — who he called the best player in college football — on the field, but he has plenty of confidence in Stevens and Sean Clifford’s ability when they do get thrown into action.

“Obviously we want Trace McSorley on the field, but we have a lot of confidence in Tommy Stevens and Sean Clifford,” Franklin said postgame. “Tommy went into the game and did a great job.”

The Ashburn, VA native returned to the game during the second quarter, but he was taken out again for the remainder of the first half after a 3 and out. Stevens next shot at running the offense came after Reid’s interception, and he made the most of it.

Franklin and his staff weren’t exactly sure who would start the second half at quarterback, but initially decided to keep McSorley out of the game. He told Stevens that he was going back in, but then changed his mind and put his regular starter in at quarterback.

“To be honest, we weren’t sure what we were going to do,” Franklin said. “Tommy had just come off the field and done a great job for us, so do we just stick with Tommy? We told Tommy that he was going back in, but we then decided to go with Trace. There was not one moment or one example of frustration or doubt from Tommy Stevens. He’s the ultimate team guy.”

Stevens scored his second touchdown of the 2018 season Saturday, but his three-yard score was his first at Beaver Stadium since November 11, 2017. He threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Nick Bowers late in Penn State’s 56-44 victory over Nebraska.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said of how he felt after his touchdown. “I don’t think there’s a better place to play in college football. I couldn’t be happier to be here.”