Sean Clifford has never done this the conven-
tional way.
Most quarterbacks at the college level have proba-
bly found themselves locked in a position battle
somewhere along the way, but Clifford, who found
himself competing with Will Levis for Penn State's
starting job during the first few weeks of preseason
practice, took an unconventional route when he
earned that role at Saint Xavier High School in Ohio.
Determined to earn a spot on the varsity football
squad as a freshman, Clifford took up long snap-
ping, which he parlayed into the starting quarter-
back job the following season.
"My sophomore year wasn't so much a competi-
tion as me just getting ready," Clifford said at Penn
State's media day in early August. "So this is prob-
ably my first actual, more real, quarterback com-
petition, and I'm just really excited to be a part of
it and have the opportunity that I do."
Inexperience aside, Clifford was saying all the
right things, even after most people outside the
Penn State program assumed he would be handed
the job following Tommy Stevens' decision to
leave for Mississippi State.
Although this wasn't his first time fighting for a
job, Levis has an interesting quarterback compe-
N E WS & NO T E S
LEADING MEN
Clifford talks to
offensive coor-
dinator Ricky
Rahne during a
practice ses-
sion in early Au-
gust. The
redshirt sopho-
more battled
Will Levis for
the Lions' start-
ing QB spot
throughout pre-
season drills.
Photo by Ryan
Snyder
F O O T B A L L
Competition brings out best in Lions' QBs
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