Blue White Illustrated

Receivers come in all shapes and sizes. They can be small and quick, tall and rangy, or anything in between. The main goal of these players is simple: gain sep- aration and catch the football. Liam Cli?ord made headlines this past season with monster games for St. Xavier High in Cincinnati. But what sort of receiver is he? Let's take a look. STRENGTHS VERSATILITY Cli?ord brings a lot to the table as an athlete. He's a physical re- ceiver for his level of competition, standing 6-foot-1, 191 pounds. Cli?ord also put up some impressive numbers on the camp circuit. Those numbers are certainly veri=ed by his senior tape. If anything, they should only be better now. Unfortunately, it's been impossible to verify with so many camps cancelled last summer. From a physical standpoint, Cli?ord is a very good prospect with a great talent >oor. While he's not your typical deep threat with eye-popping speed, his best asset is his deep receiving. He shows the ability to run past coverage and make big plays on a routine basis. He does a good job of making subtle cuts at high speed to gain separation down the =eld. GOOD HANDS It's also a great sign that Cli?ord is a hands-catcher who doesn't trap the ball against his body but instead plucks it out of the air. Training this skill early leads to fewer drops and more tar- gets from quarterbacks who trust that you'll come down with the ball. Throw in a couple circus catches, and Cli?ord has a solid set of hands. ROUTE RUNNING It's important to re- member that high school athletes are all taught at a variety of levels. A physically giAed player might have little in-depth training beyond the fundamentals of the position. On top of that, a player can only execute what is asked of him. Cli?ord was asked to run a lot of stop routes. Getting information from this route in particular is tough. It doesn't require a lot of athleticism to run, stop and turn around. But that is what Cli?ord was asked to run. And he produced on these routes when targeted. Deep routes and short comeback routes are essentially what make up the majority of Cli?ord's route repertoire. That's not necessarily a problem unless a player shows that he can't run other routes. For example, there are very few slants, or in- routes across the middle of the =eld in the St. X o?ense. Despite his testing numbers, Cli?ord does leave room for question in this regard. He has a somewhat sti? and upright running style. Given his height and build, it's natural to wonder if he'll be able to gain separation on those routes at the college level. However, it seems to be more a product of inconsistency rather than inability. He shows >ashes of being able to run excellent routes and separate at all levels of the =eld. AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT CONSISTENCY If there's a problem with Cli?ord's game, it's that he's inconsis- tent. While he makes big plays on some routes, they are less technically impres- sive and more a function of a superior athlete running by a high school athlete. Having the ability to beat coverage with pure speed shouldn't be undersold, but Cli?ord cannot rely solely on that skill going forward. He's not an elite- level speed player who is going to win by simply running away from players on an every-down basis in the Big Ten. Clif- ford does create separation when given the chance, and Penn State wide re- ceivers coach Taylor Stubble=eld is known as a technical coach who can ac- centuate these skills. POSITIONAL PROJECTION RECEIVER With his size, deep skills and hands, Cli?ord has the potential to de- velop into a fantastic well-rounded pos- session receiver. Possession receivers get a bad rap sometimes for being slow, but one of the best receivers of the past decade, Green Bay Packers star Jordy Nelson, had a similar style to Cli?ord. He had good but not great speed, yet was a dangerous deep threat. While it's always unreasonable to com- pare high school football players to NFL greats like Nelson, the point remains that the two share an eerily similar way of getting open. That is the style of player Penn State could potentially have in Clif- ford. With a high >oor and some un- tapped potential, he's another Penn State recruit who could easily outplay his ranking coming out of high school. ■ PHIL'S TAKE Clifford was one of the best route runners in Ohio for the 2020 season and appears capable of playing either the X- or Z-WR position at Penn State. With his ability to run precise routes, he's able to stretch the field ver- tically despite not having sub-4.4-sec- ond 40-yard speed. Clifford does a superior job of catching the ball with his hands, never letting it get to his body. At 6-foot-1, 191 pounds, he has the size to go over the middle and catch passes be- tween the hash marks. He uses his body well to neutralize and shield defenders when he catches the ball at its apex. Clifford understands coverages and knows how to find dead spaces in the secondary in zone coverage. He's an ex- tremely disciplined player who rarely makes a mental mistake. I envision him playing at the Z-WR position at the col- lege level. He's very similar in style to former Penn State receiver DaeSean Hamilton. ■ S C O U T I N G R E P O R T B Y T H O M A S F R A N K C A R R S T R E N G T H S A R E A S O F D E V E L O P M E N T P O S I T I O N A L P R O J E C T I O N

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