Penn State football faced a tough stretch of adversity from a losing record to firing former head coach James Franklin to lack of success up and down the roster to losing its starting quarterback.
Interim head coach Terry Smith's unit is less than full strength. There are key gaps on both sides of the ball, most significantly, quarterback Drew Allar and linebacker Tony Rojas. Some players, like tight end Joey Schaffer, even took an early opportunity to disattach from the Nittany Lions (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) in search of a new program.
The blue and white navigated through these absences with immense difficulty. Allar's season-ending injury, especially, created an urgent need for some sort of stability on offense beyond the running back room.
There are a plethora of underclassmen and under-experienced players on Smith's roster. Of these players are quarterbacks Bekkam Kritza and Jaxon Smolik. Both sustained injuries that kept them sidelined from recent, if not all, 2025 contests.
That means former backup and now starter quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer is the main player under center controlling the offense. Behind Grunkemeyer, the depth only gets scarier with redshirt sophomore Jack Lambert as the only healthy quarterback left.
There's been a lack of positive results from Grunkemeyer aside from his poise on the field in his first two starts. Though it was expected of the redshirt freshman to struggle on the stat sheet, it is still a disheartening fact to swallow when faced with it upfront.
In search of more options, particularly due to injury, Smith turned to an unorthodox option to stand tall under center in practices.
After the Ohio State loss, wide receiver Liam Clifford saw action at quarterback, a position he has no collegiate experience with.
The name Clifford may sound familiar to Penn State faithful. His older brother Sean Clifford is a former Nittany Lion who played from 2018-22 and is currently in the NFL. Sean leads Penn State in all-time passing yards and passing touchdowns.
While the family connection is there, there is no reason to suggest Liam will give the Nittany Lions what they're looking for. Smith is digging for short-term solutions up and down the roster, not a program-changing player.
While the jury is still out on the coaching move and its effectiveness, it is definitely an interesting choice to throw a redshirt senior and team leader into the fire this way. Clifford's first passing attempt in a college game was in the 38-14 loss to the Buckeyes.
Clifford proved himself as an essential gadget piece when utilized, but isn't any sort of breakout player for the blue and white. The former four-star notched over 150 yards in one season and only accumulated 25 yards in 2025 so far.
Versatility is precisely what led to such a decision, as quarterback coach Danny O'Brien detailed.
"[Clifford is] spending a good bit of time with us [in the QB group]," O'Brien said. "... He can do a lot. ... Very fortunate to have him on our team, given the injuries we've had in the room ... He'll do whatever is asked of him."
For the Maineville, Ohio native, it is an opportunity to prove himself valuable across the field in a variety of positions. It is also a chance for him to seize in his final year of eligibility.