Sean Clifford expresses heartfelt appreciation for everyone who impacted Penn State journey
Penn State took down Utah 35-21 in the Rose Bowl and quarterback Sean Clifford went out on top.
The Nittany Lions quarterback had a solid performance as Penn State ran away in the second half after being tied with the Utes at halftime. Since it was his swan song, Clifford reflected and gave time to thank everyone he came across during his Penn State career.
It was a heartfelt appreciation to everyone involved with the Nittany Lions since 2017, when Clifford first got to campus.
“It means a lot just to be in this position,” Clifford said. “Honestly, back to all the different teams that I’ve been a part of, quarterback is a funny position because it gets all the recognition but it’s, you know, I depend on 10 other guys to get the job done constantly. And if one guy messes up, you know, including me, you know, the whole play on offense is kind of wrecked.
“So, you know, I just respect and love and appreciate every single man that has come through Penn State’s programs and impacted me in whatever way whether it be coaches, administration staff, and especially my teammates.”
Clifford finished the Rose Bowl 16-of-21 passing 279 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He faced criticism throughout his career, but always ended on a positive note.
Clifford even reflected back to the shortened season amid a lot of turmoil nationwide and credited James Franklin for keeping the squad together and teaching lessons to every single member of the team.
“You know, I always talk about it, and I think that in 2020 Coach Franklin, he made a statement about the locker room and culture in the locker room,” Clifford said. “And how America honestly could even reflect that in the best way. I always talk about it because it doesn’t matter. Race religion, where you’re from, I got brothers for life in that locker room, so I just can’t I can’t thank everybody enough for my experience at Penn State. I’ve cherished every minute of it, the ups and the downs. I just couldn’t be more thankful.”
Clifford finished his career with 10,661 yards, 86 touchdowns, 31 interceptions, a 61.4% completion percentage, 1,073 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
He piloted the Nittany Lions offense to a 2-1 bowl record as the starting quarterback, winning the Cotton Bowl in 2019, losing the 2021 Outback Bowl but bouncing back to win the Rose Bowl to conclude his college career.
As a member of the Class of 2017, Clifford was a four-star prospect out of Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 4 overall prospect in the state, the No. 12 quarterback in the class and the No. 183 overall prospect in the class.