WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As Penn State dispatched Purdue 35-31 in a wild back-and-forth affair on Thursday night, Nittany Lion quarterback Sean Clifford did something — or rather didn’t. He didn’t run with the ball.
Of course these things happen Sometimes the play isn’t there and on a night when Clifford threw for four touchdowns it wasn’t as though he was failing to make plays other ways. But for a quarterback that has made his name with his arm and his legs, it was a bit surprising. Especially in the moments when Clifford had a lane and opted not to take it.
“I’m just trying to be the best quarterback I can for this team,” Clifford said after the game. “If that means staying in the pocket and delivering that ball, I’m gonna do that. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to win this year.”
Officially, Clifford was credited with five carries for 11 yards, with his longest run of 9 yards coming in the first quarter. After that he was fairly quiet with the ball in his hands and his legs on the ground. Comparatively, five carries is a small number for the longtime starting quarterback. In 2021 Clifford carried the ball more than five times in a game on nine occasions. In 2020, he did it in every game and carried the ball double-digit times in each of the first three games of that same season. The same was true in 2019 when Clifford carried the ball more than five times every game and carried it double-digit times on seven occasions.
Whether or not that pays dividends is hard to say. Penn State has proven capable of winning when Clifford runs the ball a lot and has won plenty of games when it hasn’t been a frequently used tool. Last year Penn State was 2-2 when Clifford had double-digit carries, 0-3 the year prior and 6-1 in 2019.
It’s easy to chalk this up to Clifford going through a half dozen years of a wear and tear. He has, in many respects, taken an equatable beating in terms of length of time as a handful of current NFL starters, so he could be forgiven for easing up a bit. But if there is anything to know about Sean Clifford it’s that he doesn’t shy away from contact, or giving up his body for his team.
Normally it could be easy to write this off as a single game aberration. Stuff happens. But as Clifford turned down at least a few straightforward running opportunities, it was too hard not to ask why.
“Every quarterback goes through — especially when you’re younger — I like to think I’m a little athletic, so you can make a play,” Clifford said. “It’s that balance between making the play and standing strong in the pocket. [Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich] has done a really good job of growing me and making sure that if I can stay in the pocket. [The offensive line] they did a hell of a job. They are really, really great this year. So you know the trust in them is real. And I just had to stay strong with that.”
It will be interesting to see how this 11th hour development helps or hurts Penn State and Clifford. It’s probably true that quarterbacks who are able to run the ball are often happy to do it sooner than should. If Yurcich can get Clifford to keep his eyes down the field just a bit longer, a few more things could go their way.
