Penn State Football quarterback Sean Clifford and the Nittany Lions’ quarterback situation was ranked among the best in the nation by ESPN
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg (ESPN+) ranked the top 25 college football quarterback situations and you may be surprised where Sean Clifford and Penn State Football were ranked.
Clifford was the undoubted starter going into this odd pandemic-affected year after a solid 2019 campaign where he threw for 2,654 yards, 23 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on a 59.2% completion percentage (148.5) rating.
Sure, he still shared a few snaps with “big arm” Will Levis but Clifford was a top 25 Heisman trophy contender according to betting markets going into the 2020 football season.
He regressed in 2020 some, but perhaps not as much as many of our fans think. Here’s what Adam Rittenberg said:
"“Clifford and Penn State would just as soon forget the 2020 season, which started off poorly for both the team and its top quarterback. Penn State went 0-5 for the first time in team history, and Clifford completed the stretch with eight interceptions, at least one in each contest. Although he performed much more efficiently during a season-ending four-game win streak, a reset was in order. Coach James Franklin fired coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca after only one season and hired Mike Yurcich, the former Texas and Oklahoma State offensive coordinator, who also coached Fields at Ohio State in 2019. Yurcich’s track record with quarterback bodes well for Clifford, a fifth-year player who will likely lead the offense for only one more season.”"
Looking into his 2020 statistics, they aren’t nearly as bad as perhaps you remember watching.
Clifford actually improved his completion percentage (60.6%). His yards and touchdowns were down, obviously with fewer games, but turnovers were the real issue as he threw nine interceptions and he put the ball on the ground a few times.
But, Clifford’s QB rating only went down a handful of points (137.4). While Rittenberg did move Clifford down slightly from last year (12th going into 2020, 18th going into 2021), hopefully, this quells the fears of some Nittany Lions fans that Sean Clifford will be a disaster.