Sean Clifford, Drew Allar decisions complicated by extenuating factors

Sean Clifford finished his Saturday evening as Penn State’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, completions, and attempts. Marching toward finishing his career with the best completion percentage of any quarterback in the program’s history, the sixth-year signal-caller added a 30-0 win over Maryland to his list of accomplishments, too.

In a dominating effort in which Penn State trounced the visiting Terrapins in every facet of the game, Clifford produced a 12-of-23 stat line. In it, he notched 139 yards and a touchdown to go along with four carries for 13 yards.

Still, Penn State head coach James Franklin was left to make a judgment call.

Leading Maryland 27-0 at the half in a driving rain that blanketed Beaver Stadium, when should the starters be relieved? Or, more specifically to Penn State fans eager to see development and opportunity for the program’s future quarterback, true freshman Drew Allar, when would his chance begin?

“It just gets to the point where it’s, How soon can we get him in the game, where we feel like the lead is enough, that we’re comfortable with doing it?” Franklin said. 

Saturday night, that call came late in the third quarter. 

Making the call

Subbing out Clifford for Allar at the 3:38 mark in the third quarter, Penn State had tacked on a field goal about five minutes before to hold a 30-0 advantage. Against a hapless Maryland outfit stymied completely by Penn State’s dominant defense, Franklin’s balancing act still wasn’t clear cut, though, he said. 

Juggling an offensive line depleted by injury at this point in the season, and owning a running backs room perilously thin on available scholarship talent, with few standout starters at receiver, a consideration existed beyond just Allar’s opportunity in the circumstances.

“The other challenge though is when we get Drew in the game, we got a bunch of other guys that we need to get out of the game,” Franklin said. “And then there’s a fine line because I want Drew in there with the starters. But then there’s also a fine line, our depth is depleted on the offensive line and we need to get those guys off the field because we can’t afford to have them late in the game in there.”

Sean Clifford’s perspective

Given the perspective of a long and accomplished career at Penn State, Clifford contextualized the situation and what it meant for Allar.

Able to enter the game in the third quarter and take the reins for three unfruitful possessions, Allar’s time wasn’t a waste, Clifford said. Owning a stat line of 3 completions on 6 attempts for 18 yards while being on the field for 13 total plays, the experience was one from which lessons could be drawn.

“I think it’s very valuable for Drew,” Clifford said. “I think that him being able to take those reps and excel and be able to make mistakes and make plays, it’s great,” 

Reflecting on his career, one in which he redshirted as a true freshman in 2017, then followed it with four games played in 2018, completing 5 of 7 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns as a backup to Trace McSorley, Clifford detailed what he gleaned from the opportunities. 

“When I had a couple of shots to come in the game, it gave me a bunch of confidence,” he said. “It kind of showed me and gave me a little bit of opportunity to see what in-game is like, because it’s much different, obviously, than practice. Just being able to weigh the highs and the lows.

“And then it’s also nice for Drew too, and I try to make a good point of it, is to be there for him when he’s on the field. I remember just the same way that Trace was, the same way that Tommy (Stevens) was back in 2018 when I was getting some reps, they always had my back. They were always giving me pointers on the field and then when we came off. So I’m just trying to replicate that leadership as best as I can and be the best teammate that I can be.”

Next steps

For Allar this season, those experiences have now numbered eight of Penn State’s 10 games played. Completing 30 of his 49 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns, Allar has added 12 carries for 25 yards on the ground.

Taking the entirety of the situation into account, Franklin acknowledged afterward the complexities that went into the decision.

“It’s not the ideal situation,” Franklin said. “I wish we were at a different point from an injury perspective, from a depth perspective. Hopefully, we’ll get some of those guys back, because early in the season, I felt really good about our number two O-line. But, we’ve just got a lot of moving parts right now. So that factors into it a little bit, too.”