Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford and receiver Jahan Dotson will look to take care of business in more ways than one as the Nittany Lions host Villanova Saturday afternoon.
Looking to improve to 4-0 on the 2021 season, the Penn State senior quarterback and wide receiver will take to Beaver Stadium to complete the on-field end of the bargain. Once the game has ended, the pair then is set to take a quick jaunt across the street for what is being billed as a “postgame catered tailgate, Q&A, and meet-and-greet” at Medlar Field.
“Experience this first-of-its-kind event in the new era of college football, as Penn State QB Sean Clifford and WR Jahan Dotson will join guests for a meet-and-greet, Q&A, and autograph signing on the main concourse at Medlar Field (PSU's baseball stadium) across the street from Beaver Stadium,” the event description reads. “This catered event (with a cash bar) will provide you with unique access to Penn State's star duo and give you a chance to ask them about the season so far, their outlook for upcoming games, and anything else you'd like to know! You'll also be able to walk away with an autograph and have your picture taken with the pair.”
Selling tickets for the event at $40 for adults and $20 for kids, the event stands as another NIL opportunity for Clifford and the Nittany Lions in this new era of college athletics.
And for Clifford specifically, those opportunities have been plentiful since the enactment of the new NIL rules in July.
Whether through his paid autograph signing at a restaurant in the Harrisburg area this summer, or through the unveiling of his participation with his brother, wide receiver Liam Clifford, in a workout app, his branded t-shirt sold at a local student store in State College, or his new merchandise line (discussed by ESPN veteran play-by-play man Chris Fowler via Instagram this week), the Nittany Lions’ quarterback has been particularly active in the NIL space.
According to Clifford, though, the heavy lifting to take advantage of these new opportunities has all been completed by a team around him to not distract from the actual work of football.
“I set up a pretty good team of people around me and we worked pretty hard during the month of July leading up to fall camp because I knew that in fall camp and going into this season, I did not really want to deal with it,” Clifford said. “So I feel like I got a pretty good team around me that I don't really need to look at social media, I don't really anymore. They're making sure that I'm getting the posts that I need out, they're timing everything up. I just dropped a merchandise line… and they did everything for me. So I feel like I've gotten a pretty good grip of everything.”
The event Saturday is set to begin 30 minutes after the game concludes, though both Clifford and Dotson are likely to participate in postgame media obligations, with the summary noting that other college games will be shown on TVs at the baseball stadium before the pair arrives.
All part of a plan that Clifford envisioned as an opportunity not only for himself but also for his teammates and the program as a whole, it’s the next step along the way.
“I would say I've helped myself and my teammates around me with how I've gone about my business and I think that that's one of the things that I wanted to kind of focus on is to create a starting point for Penn Staters, and soon-to-be Penn State athletes,” Clifford said. “That way I could maybe be a role model for guys in the future with NIL. When you're starting to get to college, how do you go about looking for deals? But at the same time, a lot of it's going to be during the season, so how do you balance it with football?
“Football needs to be the number one, only priority, and then everything else just needs to fall in behind, and I feel like I've done a pretty good job of balancing everything and having a team behind me that helps with that.”
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