Exuding confidence, Nittany Lion QB Sean Clifford pursuing further progress
A process-driven and motivated player, Sean Clifford deconstructed the minutia of his interactions with new Penn State assistant coach Mike Yurcich.
Spending time on the practice field and film room together, the Nittany Lions’ fifth-year senior quarterback and the program's new offensive coordinator find a common wavelength in which what’s seen, and executed, is understood at its most fundamental level. And at its core is an uncompromising pursuit of making the right reads and plays on an instinctive basis.
“He really just wants to get inside our head, make sure that what we're seeing is correct, and then what we're seeing translates to production. I think that he does a really good job of it,” Clifford said after practice Wednesday evening. “He really pushes us to go a step beyond what we're capable of doing and break that ceiling. I really have appreciated his leadership and how hard he has pushed me so far, and the whole unit.”
One week into Penn State’s preseason practices ahead of the 2021 campaign, that dynamic is one that has already produced dividends for Clifford.
In the wake of a disappointing 2020 campaign marred by poor decisions and ball security issues, so frustrating that Clifford is now refusing to discuss it anymore, the quarterback’s persona stands in striking contrast to that of his body language as recently as eight months ago. Rather, exuding confidence within a team and program counting on his leadership and performance this season, Clifford has drawn a self-assuredness out of his time spent working with Yurcich.
“I definitely feel like I'm playing a pretty high level, and he's brought a lot of good out of me; things that I've never thought I could do,” Clifford said. “He's given me a lot of chances to prove to him that he can trust me, and changing plays and making protection calls and putting us in the right play, whatever it is, and I feel like I've done that so far, and he's been happy with how I've been progressing.”
With another 23 days separating Clifford and the Nittany Lions from their first game of the season, a Sept. 4 date with Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium, that progress isn’t completed, though.
Determined to improve on his 65.6 completion percentage in Penn State’s final four games of the 2020 season, a dramatic turnaround from the 48.3 percent passing and eight interceptions that marked the team’s 0-5 start, Clifford said he’s taken to heart Yurcich’s rejection of satisfaction with his performances in camp so far. Still owning an opportunity to make more personal progress leading into the season, Clifford said he is focusing on what’s immediately ahead of him.
“Coach Yurcich is definitely bringing a new player (out of me). He's definitely just pushing me to a new level and he's making me a better version of Sean Clifford that I feel like the team's happy to see and I'm happy to see myself,” Clifford said. “But you just can't get complacent. It's day five, it's practice five of camp, so this is just the beginning, and I just can't wait for tomorrow, practice six, because that's really all that matters.”
Having already witnessed the changes that have taken place since beginning to work with Ciarrocca in the winter, Clifford is convinced that what’s left is an opportunity to exceed even his own expectations moving forward.
Working with Yurcich, who pushes that message daily, it’s a result the Nittany Lions are counting on.
“He says it all the time that you can't be okay with where you're at. I'll never be satisfied with where I'm at,” Clifford said. “We're only five days in the fall camp, so this is just the beginning. I'm trying to break my ceiling and go even higher, each and every day, and bring the unit along as well.
“I think that we're doing really good things right now, but it's only day five of camp, so we are not even close to where we need to be. But we'll get where we need to be, I'm confident in that.”
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