Sean Clifford found some symmetry in his Penn State career Saturday. The first time he threw a pass in a Nittany Lions uniform, Clifford hit Brandon Polk for a 34-yard touchdown on a muddy night in Pittsburgh. On Saturday, Clifford threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith on his final pass in his final game at Beaver Stadium.
More than four years elapsed between Clifford’s first pass in 2018 and his last pass in 2022. It was 1,540 days to be exact. Over that time period, Clifford started 46 games, led Penn State to two 10-win seasons, got benched and emerged as a sometimes divisive factor within the Penn State fan base.
On Saturday evening, Clifford closed the book on a productive and memorable Penn State career by tying his career high with four touchdowns while completing 19 of 24 passes for 202 yards in the Nittany Lions’ 35-16 win over Michigan State at Beaver Stadium.
After six years, including four years as a team captain and starting quarterback, Clifford’s college career is over. He went through the Senior Day festivities — for real, this time — and lingered on the Beaver Stadium grass with his family after the game ended. He played catch with his younger brother, Liam, the redshirt freshman wide receiver. It was over.
“It was definitely emotional.” said Clifford, who plans to play in Penn State’s to-be-determined bowl game. “I’m not really a huge crier, but I saw my parents, and especially my brother out there, I started tearing up a little bit. Once we got back in the locker room, we all were talking about just locking in: ‘Let’s make sure we take care of business.’ And then it didn’t hit me until after the last touchdown. Then I started to really feel it.”
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No matter what he does in the bowl game, Clifford will end his time at Penn State as one of the most productive players in the program’s storied history. Clifford ranks first in attempts (1,335), completions (817), passing yards (10,382), passing touchdowns (84) and completion percentage (61.2%) all-time at Penn State. He also ranks in the top 10 in Big Ten history in attempts, completions and total yards (11,456).
Clifford, 24, faced a decision last year. He could take advantage of the NCAA waiver granting athletes an extra season of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, or he could move on to the next stage of his career. Last December, Clifford announced he was returning for a sixth season.
The past three months haven’t always been smooth. Clifford was booed during the White Out against Minnesota. Penn State lost to Michigan in spectacular fashion and Ohio State in crushing fashion. Clifford couldn’t bring a Big Ten title or College Football Playoff berth back to State College. Five-star freshman Drew Allar was always right behind him on the depth chart. But Clifford still suited up every week, played through pain and had his coaches’ and teammates’ trust that he could help them to victory.
“I’m gonna be honest with you, Sean has been one of the best leaders I’ve ever seen throughout my years here, and he’s just got better and better each year,” center Juice Scruggs said postgame. “And the amount of slander he gets from fans, from critics, from the media, like it’s not fair, [in] my opinion. And he’s been our leader this whole year. He’s led us to a 10-2 season, and he’s broke every Penn State record there is, and I just think he’s the greatest Penn State quarterback ever.”
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Scruggs, a redshirt senior and team captain, echoed a similar sentiment that defensive tackle PJ Mustipher, another fifth-year senior and team captain, expressed earlier in the week about the level of appreciation — or lack there of — that the quarterback received.
And Mustipher felt it was fitting that Clifford was able to cap his time at Beaver Stadium in the fashion that he did. Behind the scenes, Clifford set an example for his teammates, both veterans and younger players alike, and that’s something Mustipher believes he’ll take away from his time with Clifford.
“Oh, best way. He goes out a winner. He goes out playing great ball,” Mustipher said. “I can’t talk enough about him. I saw his parents and thanked them for allowing him to be one of my teammates. I’m just so thankful for him. Like me, I’m gonna use this, just being able to be right next to him and see what he’s had to go through, I’m gonna use it throughout my football career because when I go through something, I’ll be able to be like, ‘OK, Sean went through the same thing about it, and he was able to stand tall through it.’ I’m gonna use this for the rest of my life, what he went through.”
During his time at Penn State, Clifford understood what was expected of him, especially in succeeding a program great in Trace McSorley, and he rarely shied away from those expectations. He knew what he was supposed to, and he embraced it.
Over the past few weeks, Clifford outlined how he’s been living his dream over the past few seasons. He’s the starting quarterback for a prominent Big Ten program. He’s playing with his younger brother. He’s set himself up for his post-football career, too, with his off-field ventures. And he said he owes that all to Penn State.
“People are going to be critical, but that’s because this place is so special and they demand excellence and they demand the best, which is awesome,” Clifford said. “And that’s what this place should be. They should demand the best. They should want to win every game. They should want to be elite because that’s what this program deserves. Am I bummed that I couldn’t get it done all the way to that point? Yeah. But, man, what a journey it was because I wouldn’t give up the memories that I have with teammates that I have had for anything.”
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When the postgame celebration with the Land-Grant Trophy was winding down, Clifford found long snapper Chris Stoll and the two sixth-year seniors took off on one last lap around Beaver Stadium. Fans had stayed after the game and came down to the first row of the stands. Clifford and Stoll shook hands, gave out hugs, snapped photos and soaked it all in one last time.
After interviews, Clifford returned to the field with his family to pose for photos in front of the gate in the south end zone. A couple minutes earlier, he spoke about how he learned to “fall in love with the process” and remind himself to enjoy everything, whether it was playing in front of 107,000 fans at Beaver Stadium or being able to sit back and watch Allar throw during one-on-ones in a midweek practice.
There’s still one more game left on Clifford’s Penn State journey. But Saturday marked the end of a distinct period in Clifford’s life, and he did it on his terms.
“I couldn’t be more happy about how it played out,” Clifford said.
Read more: Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford approaches the end: ‘I’m just a super thankful individual right now’
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at daniel.gallen@cbsinteractive.com. Follow Daniel on Twitter at @danieljtgallen.
