Liam Clifford determined to make his own name at Penn State

When Liam Clifford arrived at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, his goal was simple: Make everyone there remember him as Liam Clifford, not Sean Clifford’s younger brother.

Take one look at the stat sheet from his senior season, and it’s safe to assume Liam accomplished what he set out to do.

In 12 games last season, the 6-foot-1,190-pound wideout accumulated 1,090 receiving yards. He surpassed the 100-yard mark in five different games — including a 300-yard outburst against St. Ignatius — all while finding the end zone 12 times.

Now, he’s preparing to begin his career at Penn State, where he’ll strive to make his own mark once again, playing alongside Sean, who figures to start at quarterback for the Nittany Lions for the third-straight season.

“That’s always something that people have been able to get under my skin by, like when I first came to my high school people knew me because of Sean,” Liam said. “So, just making sure people got to know me for me. I think I did a good job of that obviously, but it definitely gave me a chip on my shoulder.”

Clifford is one of three wideouts in Penn State’s 2021 class, joining Lonnie White Jr. and Harrison Wallace. Rivals.com gave him a three-star rating, and ranked him as the No. 31 prospect in the state of Ohio. He finished his recruitment with offers from schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Duke, Pitt and Tennessee.

On the field, he said his strengths include his speed, deep-receiving skills, and route running.

“I’d say I’m a really crafty route-runner,” Clifford said. “I’m all about learning how to get open. I feel like I had a good foundation in high school with coaches teaching me how to read defenses and how to get open, and then just working at that specifically with route running, just footwork and how to get out of breaks.”

Clifford’s recruitment was somewhat unique, given that he followed shortly after Sean, who had been through the process before.

Liam got the chance to visit some of the college campuses Sean toured during his own recruitment, and was able to use Sean as a soundboard when he had questions or concerns.

“There’s definitely parts of it that were different,” Liam said. “I would say most of it was an advantage.”

Like his older brother, Liam eventually settled on Penn State, giving James Franklin and staff his verbal commitment back in October of 2019.

“I wanted to commit to Penn State because it just felt like home,” he said then. “Every time I’m there, the coaching staff makes me feel like family and it really is just a special place.”

And that special place could hold some special moments for the Clifford family.

Sean and Liam have long been playing with and against one another in informal sports around the house, whether that be football or something else.

There’s even a bit of an infamous anecdote involving a Little Tike basketball hoop.

“I was so mad at him because he kept scoring on me,” Liam said. “I turned my back and ran straight through the wall, so I put a huge hole in our wall.”

Despite the memories — and the home repair costs — Liam and Sean have racked up playing sports, they’ve never actually been on the same team together.

They will be this fall, and it’s quite possible that at some point they’ll combine as quarterback and receiver.

“I feel so blessed — and he does too — just to have the opportunity to be in this position,” Sean said. “We’ve thrown the ball together in the backyard and we’ve played the neighbors and we’ve done pick up basketball and baseball. We’ve done all these things but we’ve never been on a true team together.

“We’ve always talked about how it would be so great to finally play together on the same team, and for that to finally be coming true this year, it makes me so excited.”

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