Clifford’s long journey reaching its conclusion
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sean Clifford realizes his time at Penn State is almost up.
The Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback the last four years and a member of the team for six, Clifford has been both the hero and the scapegoat and everything in between during a mercurial time for Penn State’s program. Now with the Nittany Lions sitting at 9-2 and ranked No. 11 in the country, Clifford is glad to see the squad distancing itself from last year’s 7-6 mark and the 2020 campaign’s 4-5 finish.
“From a program perspective, I think that we’re in a really good place,” Clifford said. “Just to be a small spoke in that wheel is something that I can’t thank the community enough for. I think that it’s just been so much fun, such a whirlwind, but at the same time, such a great experience to be a starting quarterback for these past four years.”
When Penn State plays Michigan State on Saturday, Clifford will be honored during the senior day festivities, since his eligibility has run up after six years in Happy Valley. He’s doing his best to soak in these last few moments, like when he roomed with his brother during the Nittany Lions’ latest road trip to Rutgers, a 55-10 Penn State win.
Next up for Clifford is embracing the reality that senior day is nearly upon him.
“I’m most looking forward to it actually being my senior day,” Clifford said. “It’ll be super cool to really realize that it’s over and to reflect on all the fun memories that I’ve had there with my teammates, my coaches and my friends and be able to really take it in, understand the moment more than ever and really grab it.”
When Clifford departs from Penn State’s program, he’ll do so as the Nittany Lions’ all -time passing leader and one or their winningest quarterbacks, too. But his career has come with its dips and dives, like being benched during the COVID-19 impacted 2020 campaign or facing boos from fans at Beaver Stadium who hoped for freshman five-star recruit Drew Allar to usurp him.
James Franklin summed up Clifford’s approach to the highs and lows of his career with one word: perseverance.
“He’s just handled it all, I think, with class,” Franklin said. “I think he has learned and grown and evolved during his time here. I think the biggest word for me with him is perseverance.”
The criticisms of Clifford haven’t breezed past teammates like defensive tackle PJ Mustipher. While the condemnation has been warranted at times, like when Clifford turned the ball over four times in a loss to Ohio State earlier this year that may have cost Penn State the game, Mustipher believes the quarterback’s “warrior mentality” is what’s allowed him to continue forward.
“Everybody can judge him, you can say what you want about him, but you ain’t on that field. You’re not in that spotlight, you’re not the quarterback,” Mustipher said. “You’re not who everybody’s looking at, whether we’re winning and whether we’re losing. People can say what they want to say, but they ain’t out there. Not a lot of people got the guts to do what he’s doing, even when people aren’t even cheering for him at his own home stadium.”
Clifford has embraced being one of a few key faces of the program, and he called his decision to join the Nittany Lions the “greatest decision” of his life. What awaits Clifford in his post-Penn State life remains to be seen, as his NFL prospects aren’t particularly prosperous and Franklin indicated on Tuesday that he doesn’t see coaching in the future for the veteran gunslinger.
Either way, Clifford doesn’t seem to have any regrets about coming to Penn State.
“Leaving this place, I feel very comfortable in my next steps in life,” Clifford said. “It’s all because of the decision I made when I was 16 years old.”
Franklin and Clifford have naturally been connected whenever the program has been brought up over the last four years, as often is the case with head coaches in college football. Franklin’s never had a quarterback for as long as Clifford, even with players like five-year member and current Arizona Cardinals backup quarterback Trace McSorley coming through the system.
Now, time is catching up with Clifford and Franklin’s quarterback-coach relationship. After the Rutgers win, Clifford had an opportunity to reflect on where he and Franklin have brought the program after the tribulations that have taken place during their time together and what it means for Penn State to have a winning team once more with the veteran quarterback on his way out the door.
“I think that it’s getting back to how I started with the 2019 team,” Clifford said. “We had a hell of a team. I’ve had a bunch of great teams here that I’ve been able to be a part of, and it’s getting back to winning culture.”