Blue White Illustrated

SEE CLIFFORD PAGE 54 W hen Liam Cli6ord arrived at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, his goal was simple: Make everyone there remem- ber him as Liam Cli6ord, not as Sean Clif- ford's younger brother. Take one look at the stat sheet from his senior season, and it's safe to assume Liam accomplished what he set out to do. In 12 games last season, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound wideout accumulated 1,090 receiving yards. He surpassed the 100- yard mark in 5ve games – including a 300-yard outburst against St. Ignatius – all while 5nding the end zone 12 times. Now, he's preparing to begin his career at Penn State, where he'll strive to make his own mark once again, playing along- side Sean, who 5gures to start at quarter- back for the Nittany Lions for the third consecutive season. "That's always something that people have been able to get under my skin with – like when I 5rst came to my high school, people knew me because of Sean," Liam said. "So [a priority was] just making sure people got to know me for me. I think I did a good job of that, obviously, but it de5- nitely gave me a chip on my shoulder." Cli6ord is one of three wideouts in Penn State's 2021 class, joining Lonnie White Jr. and Harrison Wallace. Rivals.com gave him a three-star rating and ranked him as the No. 31 prospect in Ohio. He 5nished his recruitment with nine total o6ers, in- cluding Michigan, Michigan State, Duke, Pitt and Tennessee. He said his strengths include his speed, deep-receiving skills and route running. "I'd say I'm a really cra7y route-runner," he said. "I'm all about learning how to get open. I feel like I had a good foundation in high school with coaches teaching me how to read defenses and how to get open, and then just working at that speci5cally with route running, just footwork and how to get out of breaks." Cli6ord's recruitment was somewhat unique, given that he followed shortly a7er Sean, who had been through the process before. Liam got the chance to visit some of the college campuses Sean visited during his own recruitment and was able to use Sean as a sounding board when he had questions or concerns. "There's de5nitely parts of it that were di6erent," Liam said. "I would say most of it was an advantage." Like his older brother, Liam eventually WR Clifford blazes his own trail to University Park CLICK HERE to see video of Cli7ord in action. when they le7, but I've really enjoyed get- ting to know Coach [Anthony] Poindexter. "So far, we've got a good relationship going and I'm just working on building that up. His energy really stands out. He's a high-energy guy who loves his players. He's going to make you work, but he's real with you, too. That's what I like." Wheatley barely got to play last fall. Following nearly a month of preseason practice, he and his Archbishop Spalding teammates were able to play two games in a span of a week in early November. Wheatley performed well, totaling two touchdowns and two interceptions, but just a few days a7er the second game, the schools on their schedule started to aban- don their plans, with multiple teams de- veloping COVID outbreaks. Having decided not to play basketball to minimize the risk of injury, Wheatley didn't get the senior year he had envi- sioned. Still, he's had no time to relax. If anything, he's been working harder than ever, training with two di6erent special- ists, on top of his regular workouts. "Seven days a week, I'm doing some- thing," Wheatley said. "Even on my days o6, I'll go catch the ball or something. I've been working and grinding as hard as I ever have to get myself in the best posi- tion possible before I get up there." Being ready athletically is only half the battle for Wheatley. He's also focused on starting o6 right academically this sum- mer. When it's time to enroll, his goal is to join the team "as well-rounded as I can." "I'm trying to go there and get my classes o6 to a great start. I want to make sure I get good grades this summer and start every- thing o6 right," Wheatley said. "I also want to be in the weight room all the time and show everyone that I'm ready to com- mit myself to the program. I'm just going to be a hard worker in all aspects." ■ THE CLIFFORD FILE STATS Finished with 72 catches for 1,090 yards and 12 TDs as a senior... Had 77 catches for 1,180 yards and 13 TDs as a jun- ior... Set school records for most career catches (166), receiv- ing yards (2,538) and receiving TDs (30) HONORS Named a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 31 prospect in Ohio... Was named Division I O7ensive Player of the Year and Greater Catholic League South Player of the Year in 2020 |

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