Penn State coach James Franklin said Tuesday that quarterback Sean Clifford is further along this week compared to last as practice is set to begin before another game.

"We expect to have a 100 percent Sean Clifford this weekend," Franklin said.

Clifford was clearly hurting and limited in what he could do throughout last Saturday's loss to Illinois. He never ran and wasn't able to create with his feet as he has so often in 2021 and finished 19 of 34 for just 165 yards and a touchdown, but Franklin offered a better outlook ahead of Ohio State than he did in the buildup to last weekend's visit from the Fighting Illini.

"I think the good thing is, as you know, last week, we weren't sure," Franklin said. "We were trying to kind of see where he was going to be.

"Sean's much further ahead now, so that's a positive. We feel really good about that. And Sean felt great physically on Sunday."

If Clifford is indeed 100 percent, it would go a long way toward allowing the Nittany Lions' offense to perform and execute in a way that it simply couldn't last Saturday with Clifford not being able to use his feet as a weapon.

"I think that's a big part of Sean and what his game is, his ability to extend plays, his ability to keep the defense honest and be able to make a play throughout the game where he picks up the first down with his legs," Franklin said. "He was limited, obviously, in what he could do, and we tried to limit it as much as we could as well.

"Obviously, that was the challenge, when you got a guy like Sean and that's a big part of what he does and how he plays. That being limited obviously impacted him and us."

Franklin went on to say that both backups, Ta'Quan Roberson and Christian Veilleux, continue to improve in practice, and yet it remains unclear how close either is to being the best option for Penn State to win if and when Clifford is hobbled either at Ohio Stadium or in the future.

"They've gotten a lot of opportunities so that that's been helpful," Franklin said. "Obviously, it's very different what you do in practice and in a game, so those guys continue to develop, continue to grow, and are getting better.

"Both of those guys, obviously, we're going to need with Sean's situation and also just the way college football is in our game in general. So, we expect to have 100% Sean Clifford this weekend."

Penn State-Ohio State starts at 7:30 p.m. ABC will televise the matchup.

"Obviously, tremendous challenge going on the road," Franklin said. "We got to get healthy and we got to go and play smart, and obviously we're going to have to limit explosive plays, and we got to find a way to score some points because obviously, this team has the ability to put points on the board. So, tremendous challenge."

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