Clifford talks partnership with Levis, offense's development moving forward
Sean Clifford’s measure of his own success last Saturday against Rutgers was direct.
Penn State won, so, in his view, he was successful.
Since Clifford’s benching against Nebraska and subsequent return off the bench in the second half against Iowa in Week 5, there has been something of a timeshare at the quarterback position for the Nittany Lions between Clifford and Will Levis.
Against Rutgers, Clifford played 62 snaps while Levis played 17. The Nittany Lions did not run a single pass play with Levis at quarterback, and haven’t done so since the Iowa game, which Levis started.
“I thought it went pretty smooth,” Clifford said Wednesday. “Will and I, per usual for the both of us — Will and I are going to do whatever it takes to win the game and that’s what matters, so obviously it went well because we won the game. That’s the first part of it.
“From an efficiency standpoint I thought that when Will was in we ran the ball super well, he was super efficient and our offense moved. I thought that we did some good things as an offense as a whole. We had some explosive plays, left some on the board, but I think that we have a lot of meat on the bone, and I’m just excited to see how we can put these pieces together, finish the season out and kind of catapult ourselves into next year.”
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With Levis carrying the ball on every snap he took last week, and many of those runs coming in short-yardage situations, Penn State averaged 3.8 yards per play with him in the game.
Under Clifford, whose role was obviously much more expansive, the Nittany Lions averaged about 5.1 yards per play.
The caveat there is the same as it has been all season: turnovers. Clifford threw an interception in the second half, and Devyn Ford fumbled in the second quarter. For an offense that has generally moved the ball well this season, it was a familiar foil that Penn State managed to overcome on the scoreboard for the first time this season.
Clifford, though, was optimistic about Penn State’s improvement when it comes to protecting the ball. Against Michigan, the Nittany Lions had their first turnover-free game of the season before the slip-up against the Scarlet Knights.
“We’re not turning the ball over as much,” Clifford said. “I thought that last week, that fumble and my interception, those two things cannot happen. I think that we’re all proud of how we’re doing.”
Moving into this weekend and whatever might come beyond it, Clifford is simply hoping to see progress.
He wants Penn State to be a bit more explosive in the passing game, continue to improve in the running game, prioritize the details and stick to a positive mentality.
And, by all accounts, Levis’ inclusion under center is a part of the path the Nittany Lions’ offense is walking.
Penn State coach James Franklin has said all season that the Nittany Lions need both of their quarterbacks, and he reiterated that once again during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean their usage will be the same as it has been in recent weeks.
Accounting for all their snaps this season, Penn State has passed the ball about 27 percent of the time with Clifford under center and 20 percent of the time with Levis at quarterback.
Franklin hopes that, by the end of the season, that split won’t be quite as drastic.
“We’ve got to mix in the pass with Will,” Franklin said Tuesday. “Will’s doing a really good job in helping us in short yardage situations or four-minute offense, which the reality is that’s a big part of how we wanted to use him. But we also want to be able to mix in some other things in there, because he’s shown that he can do it and he deserves it. Also, I think it makes us more explosive and makes us more efficient.
“You know, keep people a little bit off-balance and be a little bit less predictable.”
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