James Franklin reacts to Auburn's big hit on Sean Clifford, what it said about the QB

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford took quite a hit in the Nittany Lions’ game against Auburn last week. He fumbled on the play, so James Franklin — in the heat of the moment — turned his attention to the ball.

Then, he got on the bus after the game and saw a replay.

“I knew it was a good hit,” he told reporters Wednesday. “But it was one of those hits like when I watched the replays on the bus on my phone on the way home, I was like, ‘That was more significant than I realized.'”

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Clifford stayed in the game and helped lead Penn State to a resounding 41-12 victory on The Plains in Week 3. Considering the hit, it was quite a bounce-back by the Nittany Lions quarterback, who went 14-for-19 for 178 yards in the victory.

Franklin’s takeaway — other than making sure his QB1 was OK — was how Clifford came back from that play. That, he said, aligns with the values he wants to instill in his players.

“I did make a big deal out of that with the team because I feel like we’re starting to create an identity as a tough and physical team,” Franklin said. “And I know that may not seem to align with that play, but the way Sean just bounced right back up right after that, to me, was more impressive. He took their best shot and bounced right back up.”

Although Clifford left the game amid the blowout, Franklin opted to leave him in after taking the big blow. Afterward, he credited the medical personnel for evaluating Clifford and that’s when he decided to put him back out on the field.

“To be honest, I leave that to our medical people. I watch him as well, and his teammates do, but he popped right up,” Franklin said in his postgame press conference. “He’s taken some big licks in his career, and he’s a tough kid. Been through a lot, both physically and mentally. I’m proud of him. I’m just really proud for Sean Clifford right now. And I’m proud of our team, to come down here and get this type of win. Gutsy performance, a lot of things again that don’t show up in the stat sheet.

“He’s a tough guy. That was a big hit. That was a physical game. I’m not sure where you guys are sitting, but down there on the field, it was a fast, physical game.”