Long awaited, Clifford family connection nearing a reality at Penn State
None of Sean Clifford’s 4,004 passing yards or 30 touchdowns at St. Xavier were familial.
The older brother to Liam Clifford, a Class of 2021 wide receiver prospect, Clifford’s career at Penn State has been the same. Responsible for 346 completions for 4,732 yards and 41 touchdowns in three seasons of work with the Nittany Lions, the elder Clifford has yet to record an official statistical connection with Liam.
In a matter of months, though, that possibility will finally arrive for the pair.
Enrolling at Penn State this summer, Liam will be on campus and embarking on a journey alongside his brother for the first time in their careers. And for Sean, that opportunity is one of which they’re both appreciative.
“It's amazing. Just the opportunity, I feel so blessed, and he does too just to be in this position,” Clifford said this spring. “We've thrown the ball together in the backyard and we've played the neighbors and we've gotten pick up basketball and baseball and we've done all these things, but we've never been on a true team together because we've been four years apart.
“When he was in grade school and I was in middle school, I moved up the high school and then he moved up to middle school and it just kept on going over and over. And we always talked about how it would be so, so great to be able to finally play together on the same team. And for that to finally be coming true this year, it just makes me so excited.”
The connection is one Penn State’s coaching staff will be looking forward to seeing, too.
Coming off a high school career in which he produced 1,090 yards receiving his senior season on 72 catches, building upon an effort of 1,180 yards and 77 receptions as a junior at St. Xavier, Clifford is expected to compete alongside fellow true freshmen Harrison Wallace and Lonnie White.
Regardless of whether or not Liam is able to work himself into the rotation within a receivers room crowded with a combination of experienced talent and unproven potential, the older Clifford sees a secondary benefit to be had in the weeks and months ahead upon his brother's arrival.
“I think that it's also going to be good for us from a work ethic perspective because we're both the same,” Clifford said. “He texts me every day hey, I want to go over this in the playbook, I want to talk about this part of film or whatever he's watching… we could just pop in a room and just watch some tape or throw the ball, just share those moments that you want with your family.
“Obviously being now in my fifth year, I've just been away from everybody for so long, and it's going to be so cool to have my brother there by my side. Just being able to not only just watch some tape but then come hang out in my house right after. I can't really express how excited I am about it.”
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