Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 6 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A s a kid growing up in Cincinnati, Sean Clifford dreamed about play- ing pro football. When he finally got his chance to take part in an NFL game, however, reality didn't measure up to those flights of childhood imagination. Not at first, anyway. Clifford threw 2 interceptions includ- ing a pick-six in his first preseason game with the Green Bay Packers, the team that had selected him in the fifth round of the draft the previous April. It was an inauspicious beginning for Clifford, who was competing to be Jordan Love's backup this fall. But just as he did so many times in his four seasons as Penn State's start- ing quarterback, Clifford shrugged off the setbacks and went back to work. He ended up completing 20 of 26 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown, and the Packers won 36-19. A few weeks later, when Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur talked to reporters about Clifford's future in Green Bay, the Cincinnati game stood out as an example of what had made him such a valuable commodity to a team that must transi- tion into a new era after trading future Pro Football Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets in April. "I think it's safe to say Sean is our No. 2 quarterback," LaFleur said on Aug. 24. "A lot of it is his mental makeup. You saw it in the Cincinnati game in terms of his ability to rebound. The game's not too big for him." By the time preseason camp was over, Clifford, who months earlier had been viewed as no sure bet to even be drafted, found himself occupying a spot on Green Bay's 53-man roster. He also found himself occupying Rod- gers' former stall in the Packers' locker room. The placement of his locker certainly didn't go unnoticed by the Packers' press corps, but Clifford was undaunted. "Obviously, I understand who was in here before, and I respect everything Clifford shined in preseason camp and earned a spot on the Packers' 53-man roster after being drafted in the fifth round in April. PHOTO BY EVAN SIEGLE/GREEN BAY PACKERS Sean Clifford Living The Dream In Green Bay M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M PSU IN THE PROS