How Penn State QB Sean Clifford ‘battled back’ from injury and is ready to go for the Cotton Bowl
The weight of the season took a toll on quarterback Sean Clifford’s body.
It finally overwhelmed the redshirt sophomore in Penn State’s penultimate game of the season, and he left the team’s matchup against the Buckeyes with an undisclosed injury. Redshirt freshman Will Levis stepped in for the rest of the game and played the following week against Rutgers.
Now, after nearly a month of rest, Clifford is ready to go for Penn State’s Dec. 28 Cotton Bowl matchup against Memphis.
“I feel good,” he said. “Everybody’s going to have injuries. That’s just one of those things that comes with this sport. I just battled back. Will took care of business against Rutgers, which was awesome. The team rallied behind him and I’m happy for him.”
The team’s quarterback said the injury that sent him to the sideline against Ohio State nagged him all season and resurfaced in a more severe way that day against the Buckeyes.
“It was just something that was (about) wear and tear throughout the whole year and then eventually came back in (the Ohio State) game. I really couldn’t do anything about it,” he said. “Near the end of the season I was not playing with the same endurance. My speed was not there. It probably started a lot at the Minnesota game, that was where I started having most of my issues. Carrying on from there, against Indiana and Ohio State, I was really battling a lot of pain.”
The redshirt sophomore’s return is a much-needed one for the Nittany Lions. They struggled to generate offense against Rutgers when Levis was in the game. The usual-backup is limited as a passer, forcing Penn State to run the ball and allowing the Scarlet Knights to stack the box and sell out to stop the run.
While the team struggled without his presence, Clifford struggled with the idea of sitting on the sidelines.
“It was extremely difficult,” Clifford said. “I just felt like I was letting people down by not being there. At the same time, the trainers really helped me out, and the coaches and everything helped me out a lot, because I needed to take that game off. I wouldn’t have been able to perform at anywhere (near) where I wanted to be ... I don’t know if I could’ve gotten the job done. That’s where I was at physically. It was definitely tough, but at the same time, necessary.”
The offense, and Clifford, should be in a better place now that he’s ready to make his return. He can make plays with his legs like Levis can, although not to the same extent, and he’s a far bigger threat with his arm.
Sophomore tight end Pat Freiermuth said that while Levis did as well as he could have given the circumstances and what Rutgers did defensively in the game, having Clifford’s experience back on the field could open up the offense more.
“I think it’s good to have Sean back to have his confidence and have his experience,” he said. “(There are) certain situations where Cliff could have seen something in another game, so he knows how to attack a defense. Will hasn’t really had any game reps to do that. With Cliff’s confidence and fiery competitiveness, having him back is going to be awesome.”
Freiermuth and the rest of the Nittany Lion offense will need Clifford at full health for their matchup against Memphis. The Tigers boast the No. 8 offense in the country according to Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings. SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency.
Clifford, however, isn’t quite at 100% yet, head coach James Franklin said. But he’s making the most of his reps in practice and Franklin said he expects him to be ready to go by Dec. 28.
“He’s better right now than he was at the end of the year,” Franklin said.
