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A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS Veteran quarterback Sean Clifford is confident that a relaxing but productive summer will lead to success this coming fall ean Clifford's June 26 Instagram post was, effectively, an entire story in five images. Simply captioned "Summer 2k21" with a camera emoji, the post consisted of a series of photographs approximating one of those "how I spent my summer" recaps that students share with the class upon returning to grade school in the fall. It was led by an image of a sweat-drenched Clifford surrounded by his peers at a summer camp, firing a pass in shorts and a tank top. Next came a headshot of Clifford smiling broadly while wearing his Penn State jersey, followed by an- other photo of him working at camp, then a close-up, grinning head- shot. And then came the final image, which married the themes. It showed Clifford back at quarterback camp, football in his hands, caught in mid-laugh but also hard at work. As easy to decipher as coded social media posts go, Clifford's message needed only images to demonstrate how he was spending the summer months leading into Penn State's 2021 season. Work. Fun. Work. Fun. Working, and having fun while doing it. Six months removed from the most challenging season of Clifford's playing career, the images stand in stark contrast to the ones that de- fined his October and November of 2020. But for a team and fan base eagerly anticipating his performance as the Nittany Lions hope to bounce back from a wildly disappointing 4-5, COVID-marred debacle of a season, Clifford's message is both spoken and unspoken. "I feel great," he said. "I really do." If, in the minds of fans, his assurances demand actions more than words, Clifford understands their hesitation. He had entered the 2020 campaign on the heels of a season in which he made his starting debut and led the Nittany Lions to an 11-2 record | S FAST FACTS LETTERMEN RETURNING 1 (Sean Clifford) LETTERMEN LOST 1 (Will Levis) STARTERS RETURNING 1 (Clifford) STARTERS LOST None OTHERS WITH STARTING EXPERIENCE None WHAT THEY'RE SAYING COACHING STAFF "I've been pleased with Sean this spring. I've been pleased with Ta'Quan [Roberson] and Christian [Veilleux] as well. But between now and fall, there's a lot that needs to get worked on. I think that's one of the ex- citing things at the quarterback posi- tion. You can work on that. You can throw routes on air all summer. You can go one-on-one against the DBs all summer. You can do player-led seven- on-sevens all summer. ... So there's a lot that can be done that is player-led and player-driven between now and training camp. The quarterbacks, as well as everybody, need to do that." James Franklin // "[Clifford] is a high-energy guy. He loves it. His 'want to' is super good. He wants to be an ex- cellent quarterback and it's very impor- tant to him. It's right there." Mike Yurcich PRESEASON MAGS "The Lions had 17 giveaways, 12th in the Big Ten, and Sean Clifford threw nine interceptions, tied for the most in the league. They can't afford a reprise this fall." Athlon // "Clifford enters his third year as Penn State's quarterback with high hopes because nine starters return on offense. He was erratic last year, throwing 11 touchdown passes and eight interceptions in the first five games." Lindy's // "We expect im- proved numbers." Phil Steele S P O T L I G H T Q U A R T E R B A C K S >>

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