BIOGRAPHY
Sean Clifford was born July 14, 1998, in Barrington, Illinois. He is a quarterback in the NFL.
After redshirting his first year at Penn State in 2017, Clifford spent 2018 as Trace McSorley's backup. He appeared in four games, completing five of seven passes for 195 yards with two touchdowns.
Clifford was named the starting quarterback in 2019. He was selected All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches and media, and named an Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Clifford played in all nine games of a shortened season during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was 152-for-251 (60.6%) for 1,883 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Clifford again was named an Academic All-Big Ten honoree and earned a bachelor's degree in advertising and public relations following the 2020 fall semester.
Clifford started all 13 games of the 2021 season and finished 261-for-429 passing with 3,107 yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was honored in the 2021 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, selected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, earned a spot on the Senior CLASS Award first team, named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches and media, named Penn State's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree, earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, and earned the team's Public Service and Lion's Pride Outstanding Senior Player Awards.
Clifford started all 13 games of the 2022 season and finished 226-for-351 passing with 2,822 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. During the 2023 Rose Bowl, Sean Clifford's 88-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith became the longest passing play in Rose Bowl game history. He was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week twice (Purdue September 1, 2022; Minnesota October 22, 2022). He was also honored as the 2022 Brian Westbrook Regional Player of the Year.
