Blue White Illustrated

June-July 2022

Penn State Sports Magazine

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J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 2 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M S P R I N G F O O T B A L L 2 0 2 2 S ixth-year senior quarterback Sean Clifford will be a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy this summer. Billed as "the premier offensive skills camp" for quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, the gathering takes place annually on the campus of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. Clifford also served as a counselor there in 2021. The Penn State veteran will be joined by numerous Power Five quarterbacks at the 26th installment of the camp, in- cluding at least one Big Ten foe and a former Nittany Lion teammate. The list of invitees includes Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young of Alabama, Ar- kansas' K.J. Jefferson, Georgia's Stetson Bennett IV, Boston College's Phil Jurk- ovec and Kentucky's Will Levis, among others. Levis was Clifford's backup at Penn State in 2019 and '20 before trans- ferring to the Wildcats and enjoying a strong season in his debut in Lexington. This year's Manning Passing Acad- emy is set to take place June 23-26. Clifford is preparing for his fourth season as the Nittany Lions' starting quarterback. He'll be one of the most experienced signal callers in the coun- try in 2022, having played in 38 games and started 33 over the past three sea- sons. Clifford is one of only three Penn State players to have amassed more than 8,000 yards of total offense and one of only three PSU quarterbacks to have passed for more than 7,500 yards. After his visit to Louisiana next month, it will be time to fully focus on the season ahead. The Nittany Li- ons open their 2022 slate at Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 1. Zuriah Fisher Expected To Miss 2022 Season Redshirt sophomore defensive end Zuriah Fisher suffered a significant leg injury this spring and will miss all or most of the 2022 season. Fisher hadn't been projected to start this coming fall, but his loss is a set- back for a team that was already thin at the position. Before his injury, coach James Franklin had hailed the former Aliquippa (Pa.) High standout as a player on the rise. "I'm really excited about him and the things that he's been able to show," Franklin said in March. "He's another guy that carries the weight and has got really good length in terms of not only his height but his arm length and things like that. So, he carries weight between 265 and 270 extremely well, still looks skinny." Fisher had played mostly tight end and linebacker in high school and needed to learn a new position at Penn State. "There were some things about the defensive end position that he still needed to get comfortable with," Frank- lin said. "But he's trending in the right direction." Franklin wasn't the only Penn State coach who had been impressed with Fisher's development. Strength coach Chuck Losey also singled out Fisher as a player who had made considerable progress in the offseason. "Zuriah Fisher is a guy who jumps out to me who we're going to be dependent on this upcoming season," Losey said at the time. "He's had outstanding growth. That's physically, that's mentally, that's emotionally." Last season, Fisher was credited with two tackles while appearing in eight games. He saw action on 121 snaps, and his tackling grade of 77.8 ranked fourth among Nittany Lion defenders, accord- ing to Pro Football Focus. With Fisher expected to miss the upcoming season, Penn State has only six scholarship defensive ends avail- able heading into the summer months: senior Nick Tarburton, redshirt juniors Sean Clifford Is Headed To The Manning Academy G R E G P I C K E L | G P I C 9 2 @ G M A I L . C O M Clifford ranks second in Penn State history with 62 passing touchdowns and third with 7,839 passing yards in his career. He'll be bringing his expertise to the Manning Passing Academy this summer. PHOTO BY THOMAS FRANK CARR

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