The decision has been made by Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. On Friday afternoon, Clifford announced he is coming back for one more season at Penn State and taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA for a sixth year in Happy Valley.
“Penn State is more than football to me It is family. My teammates, Coach Franklin,m the staff and the community have shaped me into the man I am today and I am forever grateful,” Clifford said in a statement posted to his Twitter account on Friday.
“I will be returning to Penn State to play one more season in the Blue & White, ” Clifford continued. “I could not pass up the chance to be with this family and play the game I love again. The opportunity to play alongside my brother, Liam, and the rest of my brothers on the team made this decision easy.”
Clifford’s younger brother, wide receiver Liam Clifford, joined the program in the Class of 2021.
Clifford’s decision is a very intriguing one and actually gives Penn State one of the most interesting quarterback rooms in the Big Ten going into next season. Clifford will be the elder statesman in the Penn State quarterback room, on the roster, and throughout the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Penn State is lining up to add one of the top quarterbacks in the Class of 2022 with the incoming addition of Drew Allar, who will likely now get a chance to learn under Clifford’s leadership in 2022. Allar is expected to be the team’s quarterback of the future after Clifford, and that could lead to at least one quarterback potentially exploring the transfer portal a bit in the near future.
Christian Veilleux got one start for Penn State this season and looked confident in a win over Rutgers, and Taquan Roberson had a rough outing when used to replace an injured Clifford against Iowa. Keeping all four quarterbacks happy will be a tall order for James Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, so we will be watching the quarterback situation following Clifford’s announcement.
Clifford will now have another chance to leave his mark on the Penn State program as he will be able to give a run at some of the school’s all-time passing records. Leading up to Penn State’s appearance in the Outback Bowl against Arkansas, Clifford is second on the Penn State all-time touchdown passing list with 61 career touchdown passes. He trails only Trace McSorley, who had 77 career touchdown passes from 2015 through 2018 for the Nittany Lions.
McSorley also is Penn State’s all-time leading passer with 9,899 career passing yards. Clifford will have a shot at that mark as well. Clifford currently has 7,644 career passing yards, which is good for third in the Penn State record books behind McSorley and Christian Hackenberg (8,457 yards).
Clifford was an improved player from the 2020 season, but got beat up a bit at times this season against physical defenses. It will be important for Penn State’s offensive line to continue to improve and make Clifford’s return in 2022 a wise move in the long run.
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List
Penn State’s all-time leading passers in Nittany Lions history
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