Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
last of those picks coming at the goal line in the final minutes with Penn State hop- ing to engineer a comeback victory. The Minnesota game was a low point in a debut season that was mostly filled with successes, as Clifford completed just under 60 percent of his passes for 2,654 yards, with 23 touchdowns and seven in- terceptions. But Ciarrocca said that bad experiences can have value, too, provided that players view them dispassionately and analytically. "Experience is a great teacher," he said, "but only if you're willing to learn from your past. … That's one of the common denominators of all elite quarterbacks. They're able to learn from their experi- ences and apply it the next time they're in that type of situation. That's the differ- ence between being good and great, in my opinion. A guy with a great skill set, he may have some great games but maybe he never develops the consistency that you're looking for. That's the number one thing that he's got to be able to do – apply those experiences. You can't help but im- prove if you can do that, but it's easier said than done. "The one thing Sean has is that he wants to be great. He's very eager to learn – new things, new approaches, new ways to see a situation. I'm excited to see him apply what he's learned and go from there." Ciarrocca said that what will help ele- vate Clifford's game is his enthusiasm for the behind-the-scenes work that's nec- essary for success on Saturday. "You have this vision for yourself, this vision of what you want to be, but if you're going to get to that point, you have to be willing to do the work or you're never going to get there," he said. "If you're not willing to do the work, it's just a dream, it's not really a vision for yourself. That's one of the things that's impressed me about Sean, and really the other quarterbacks, too, and everybody in the program – their willingness to do the work to get to where they want to get to." And where do they want to go? The Big Ten Championship Game, of course, and the College Football Playoff, too. Penn State hasn't been to the former since 2016 and it's never been to the latter, but Clif- ford is ready to pursue those goals aggres- sively and surgically this season, and he'll have plenty of help. "I'll do whatever it takes to win," he said. "Coach Ciarrocca is on the same wavelength with that." ■ That, too, was a learning experience. "It's one thing to get in a game and get some playing time, and it's another thing to prepare all week knowing that you're going to be the starter and are going to have to engineer the offense for an entire game," he said. "That def- initely was very important for me from a developmental standpoint, and to go out there and get the win for the team was really exciting." Roberson played against Rutgers, too. It was his first game action at Penn State, as he entered late in the fourth quarter. After receiving second-team practice reps all week, he took over for Levis with the Nittany Lions facing first-and-goal at the Scarlet Knights' 6-yard line but wasn't able to get them into the end zone. His only pass at- tempt of the season – a fourth-down throw intended for Dan Chisena – fell incomplete. Roberson made his biggest contribu- tion last year as a scout team standout, sharing the squad's Offensive Player of the Year honor with lineman Sal Wormley. "The developmental squad was one of the best things that happened to me at Penn State," Roberson said. "Because even though I wasn't getting first- or second-team reps, I was able to go against one of the best defenses in the country. The week of the game, whoever we were playing, it started with us, it started with me, because I was the quarterback of that team. So prepar- ing the defense as best I could was a big help. I really took pride in that." While home this past spring, both Levis and Rober- son had access to nearby high school fields. Levis, a native of Madison, Conn., had a full set of weights, too, and was able to maintain his lifting rou- tine. Roberson, who lives in Orange, N.J., had a weight bench in the base- ment and some resistance bands, but he didn't have the equipment to do a full range of lifting exercises. Both quarterbacks were disap- pointed to miss out on spring practice, but they spent ample time getting familiar with Kirk Ciarrocca's new offense and came away feeling hopeful about the season to come. "Physically, it was definitely a setback because I didn't get the opportunity to get the reps that I would have had in the spring," Rober- son said. "But mentally, I think I'm the best I've ever been. With the playbook and our schemes and our of- fense in general, I just feel like mentally I'm at a great point." ■ WILL LEVIS Steve Manuel