Penn State Football: Clifford Not Focused on Future Just Yet

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford is anticipating being 100% healthy this weekend as the Nittany Lions face No. 5 Ohio State on the road this Saturday, but whether or not this is the last time he faces the Buckeyes remains to be seen.

“I really haven’t thought about it that much,” Clifford said when asked about his future after this season. “Obviously, that’s something that I want to sit down with coaches, my family, and talk about the pros and cons of everything, but yeah, no, I mean, it’s not something that really needs to be addressed right now because we have so much season left, and I’m just kind of focusing and taking advantage of every opportunity that I have with this team.”

Clifford, currently a redshirt senior, has been with the program since 2017 and would be eligible to return for yet another season in 2022 thanks to an NCAA ruling that effectively did not count the COVID-19 2020 season towards a player’s eligibility.

That being said Clifford – born in 1998 – finds himself approaching 24 which would make him 25 by the time his first potential NFL season were to begin. By comparison current Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts has been in the NFL for two seasons, now just 23 years in age.

Generally speaking Clifford’ up and down career has not resulted in any overwhelmingly positive draft hype for the Ohio native, but Clifford could find himself tempted to test the waters on the merits of age alone. While Wednesday was the first real time Clifford had addressed his future, the prevailing sentiment has long been that he would leave the program after the 2021 season although that assumption is entirely speculative.

“When the time presents itself, then I’ll start to think about the future, but obviously, we got a big opportunity, really appreciative of the opportunity that I have in front of myself and this team, so it’d be stupid to think about anything else but that.”

Penn State would clearly benefit from Clifford’s return, as would soon to be incoming freshman standout quarterback prospect Drew Allar who appears to the odds-on favorite to start in 2022 if Clifford were not to suit up for the Nittany Lions next year. A season for Allar to adjust to the collegiate level could do wonders for his development, although Allar appears already not far off from the ability to start from Day 1 if need be according to some experts.

Of course all of this occurs in the background of more pressing issues as head coach James Franklin continues to be courted by the likes of LSU and USC while doing little to publicly rebuff their efforts to lure him away from State College.