12/10/2021 football Edit

Sean Clifford to return for 2022 season

Clay Sauertieg • Happy Valley Insider

Beat Writer

Clay Sauertieg is a 2015 Penn State graduate with a degree in print journalism and a focus in sports journalism who has covered Penn State wrestling since 2013 and football since 2014.

For months, Penn State fans have been pondering their team's immediate future at the quarterback position.

While four-star Rivals 100 prospect Drew Allar is set to arrive on campus in January and compete with fellow incoming freshman Beau Pribula and redshirt freshman Christian Veilleux, the lingering question was whether or not redshirt senior Sean Clifford would utilize his remaining year of eligibility.

That answer came on Friday afternoon.

Clifford announced via Twitter that he would return to Penn State in 2022 and in doing so, becomes the overwhelming favorite to be the Nittany Lions' starter when they take the field to start the season against Purdue in West Lafayette.

Clifford has started 32 games in his career for the Nittany Lions with a 33rd set to come in the Outback Bowl against Arkansas. He returns to Penn State just 2,225 yards behind Trace McSorley for the program record in passing yards and 16 behind McSorley's record for touchdowns.

While the impending super senior has been much-maligned throughout his career, his return leaves Penn State in a significantly stronger spot than it had been at the quarterback position. The Nittany Lions will now have four scholarships quarterbacks on the roster, barring a transfer, two of whom will have had Big Ten game experience The move also allows Allar and Pribula to redshirt while they prepare to battle it out with Veilleux for the starting job in 2023.

The 2022 season will also mark the first time in Clifford's career as a starter that he will have the same offensive coordinator in back-to-back seasons, something that will undoubtedly be important as Penn State begins the season with a slew of tough games over the first six weeks of the season.