Foundation built, Sean Clifford, Mike Yurcich confident in next steps

Sean Clifford and Mike Yurcich agree. The quarterback and offensive coordinator at Penn State both intend to be, in essence, a testament to the benefit of time.

By the time the Nittany Lions travel to face Purdue on Sept. 1 to open the 2022 season, the pair will have spent 21 months working together. And in that doubling of their relationship’s foundation, Clifford is ecstatic for the opportunity that could accompany it.

“The excitement, for me, is second-year OC. That’s it,” Clifford told BWI in an exclusive interview last week. “I haven’t had that in my whole career starting here. The first time I’m going to be able to do it. Could not be more excited.”

Sean Clifford’s optimism

Ahead of his sixth season at Penn State, Clifford has good reason for his optimism.

Having moved on from a 2021 campaign mired by injury and inconsistency, Clifford’s reflections are, at this point, limited. He’s been steadfast in his decision to exclude the season out of the conversation, well past the point of being belabored. 

But in Clifford’s consideration of what’s to come, last year’s January-to-September whirlwind of acclimation stands in stark contrast to his current perception of Penn State’s offense. 

“The stress of learning up to the season and trying to (implement it), that is all gone. Now it’s all about mastery and how can I take (the next steps),” Clifford said. “It’s not, What can Coach Yurcich put on my plate? It’s, what can I take off Coach Yurcich’s plate? That takes away brain space for him to then focus on anything else he wants to, whether it be calling a game, whether it be developing players, whatever it may be. 

“There’s just so much I can now say Hey, I can handle that. I can handle this. I can handle that. He says, Well show me, and then all spring I’m showing him that I can take all this off his plate. And now going into the summer, the plans are so much larger because I’ve proven to him that I can handle X, Y, Z, and more.”

The OC

Yurcich echoed the sentiment.

Determined to maximize Clifford’s final season at Penn State, the “neck-up” part of the quarterback’s development has been a critical component to progress this offseason. Needing to rush through that process a year ago at this time, the urgency to expand Clifford’s repertoire hasn’t diminished. But, the window of time from which to build has changed the dynamic between coach and quarterback. 

While the eye test offered enough feedback through spring practices that Clifford had taken strides, Yurcich said the data backed it up.

“On the field, it just feels like there’s more consistency,” Yurcich said. “When we grade the tape, there’s more efficiency. There are more completions statistically. The data-driven information shows us there has been an improvement there. 

“And then I think as a quarterback coach, you get a feel and a sense of how guys are reacting, how their demeanor is on the field, how quickly they get through certain things, how comfortable or more comfortable they are in the pocket, and navigating, and knowing where some answers are to a problem coverage. Just being able to see the field and scanning quicker is something that you go by as a gauge as well.”

Next steps

In Clifford’s self-assessment, they’re the things with which he’s progressed this offseason.

Acknowledging that sometimes defenses can and will make plays, or can and will be in a better play than Penn State’s offense, Clifford said his command of the offense is the antidote. Maybe more important than minimizing plays lost, it maximizes the Nittany Lions’ bottom-line play win percentage and, in turn, the opportunity for more offensive success.

“That drops when you have a quarterback who can master an offense the way that our room is doing right now,” Clifford said. “Because it goes from, we’re in the right play 75 to 85 percent of the time, to 95 percent because on third-and-3, instead of calling this play or ID to this person, now I know all the construct of the play. And I know that, out of the corner of my eye, I see that Sam linebacker. You’re not going to trick me. I can re-ID, I can change the play, I could switch the play, I could do whatever I need to do to get us in the perfect play to win that down. 

“The one-play mentality is so real. That six-second mentality is so real because if you can win the pre-snap, those six seconds take care of themselves. If you’re in strategically better plays, you can be better or worse, you’re gonna have more success because you’re just running a better play. It’s just blocked up better. It’s better against that defense. The leverage is better. And those are all details that I’m starting to really, really understand.”

Sean Clifford’s optimism

During an offseason that will help to dictate Penn State’s offensive successes and setbacks, those details have unlocked Clifford’s confidence.

Envisioning himself standing behind his offensive line, fully aware of what to do against the opposition he’ll face, it’s where Clifford sees untapped potential for himself and the Nittany Lion offense from a year ago.

“If this defensive lineman is a shade over, then this play is better than this play,” he said. “And it’s just because he’s two feet to the left, or two feet from the right, and I can see that, conceptualize it, and then make the adjustment on the field without having to look back, so that way the defense can’t look back.”