Four weeks into the season, Penn State Football is 3-0 coming off of a bye. It hasn't been pretty, aside from a 79-7 opener win against lowly Idaho the Nittany Lions have struggled to start fast. This has always been a problem in the James Franklin era as the Lions were losing at the half to Buffalo and tied with Pitt the next week at the break. Much of the pressure is put on one player's shoulders, Quarterback Sean Clifford. Last year, Clifford was the third-string QB and only played in garbage time but was stellar when his number was called as he was 5-7 for 195 yards and 2 TD's with a QB rating of just under 400 at 399.7, pretty good for a backup.
One year later after Tommy Stevens transferred to Mississippi State, Clifford stepped up as a leader for a team that desperately needed a voice. Just a redshirt sophomore from St. Xavier High School in Ohio, Clifford was named captain by his teammates over camp, he has gained the faith of Franklin and Coordinator Ricky Rahne, and garnered respect from teams and coaches across the country. The only caveat is that he is still compared to former Quarterback Trace McSorley. This is something that Clifford will have to get used to, but make no mistake Sean Clifford is not Trace McSorley.
Through his first three starts, Clifford is 44-75 for 781 yards, 6 TD's and 113 rushing and he has yet to throw an interception in his collegiate career. Clifford has been pressured specifically against Buffalo and Pitt as he was sacked 6 times in those two games combined. This is mainly due to a Penn State offensive line that has three new starters. Also PSU is rotating four running backs, two of which are true freshmen, Noah Cain and Devyn Ford, the other two, Journey Brown and Ricky Slade, were backups last year. The running back and offensive line rooms are talented, but both have had their growing pains, which Clifford is going to have to manage for the offense to have success. With a Friday night Big Ten opener versus Maryland looming, Clifford has to be on his A game to lead the team through a rigorous Big Ten schedule.
Comments