Penn State Football: Clifford Named Starting Quarterback

Penn State coach James Franklin named redshirt sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback on Friday evening. The Nittany Lions open the season against Idaho on August 31st.

Clifford marks the fourth starting quarterback in the post-Joe Paterno era following in the footsteps of a three-year stint by Trace McSorley and three years with Christian Hackenberg under both former coach Bill O’Brien and the first two years of the James Franklin era. Matt McGloin also played a season under O’Brien as well as Paterno.

Friday’s news officially ends a training camp competition between Clifford and redshirt freshman Will Levis, although outside the program Levis was not seen as a serious threat to beat out the presumed favorite in Clifford. Both players found themselves in the spotlight following the departure of former backup Tommy Stevens who was seen as the heir apparent to McSorley before transferring to Mississippi State this offseason.

Stevens was named the starting quarterback at Mississippi State on Thursday afternoon.

Clifford currently weighs in a 6-foot-2, 216 pounds, hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio and has three years of eligibility remaining. Clifford is 5-for-7 passing so far in his career with two touchdowns, including a 95-yard touchdown pass to Daniel George against Kent State, now the longest passing touchdown in program history.

StateCollege.com sat down with Clifford earlier this offseason to talk about what is next for the Nittany Lions. You can read that story here. 

This story will be updated.