James Franklin and his staff most likely received their biggest surprise this recruiting season when QB Sean Clifford [6-3, 203] from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio verbally committed to the Nittany Lions yesterday morning just before 12-noon. What makes this commitment so surprising is that Clifford is a member of Ohio's class of 2017.
Even though Clifford had built a solid relationship with Penn State's QB coach, Ricky Rahne, Clifford really only arrived on Penn State's recruiting radar screen in full force after he was named the QB MVP at the Rivals/Under Armour QB Challenge in Cincinnati, Ohio back on April, 27. Off that performance Clifford ended up being ranked by Rivals as the 157th best overall prospect in the country and the 5th best overall prospect in Ohio for the class of 2017.
Three weekends ago [June 26-28] Franklin and his staff received an up close and personal look at Clifford at Penn State's Elite Skill Camp and after having the chance to have a long 30-minute conversation with Coach Franklin and Rahne, Clifford was given a verbal scholarship offer by Penn State.
When Clifford made his announcement on "twitter" yesterday that he had elected to attend Penn State, he had already assembled a dozen scholarship offers. That list included offers from Akron, Boston College, Cincinnati, Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern, Pitt, Tennessee and West Virginia besides Penn State.
In addition to his performance at the Rivals/Under Armour QB Challenge in Cincinnati back on April 27, another factor that caught the attention of Penn State was his limited sophomore season performance at St. Xavier. Despite the fact Clifford had some injury issues his sophomore season that limited his playing time, Clifford when he was on the field put together an impressive performance in the Cincinnati Catholic League which many Ohio high school football reporters believe is the top football conference in Ohio and one of the top 5 high school football conferences in the country.
That league and conference contains some of the most respected high school football programs in the state of Ohio. On a yearly basis St. Xavier plays top 10 Ohio Division 1 [Ohio's largest football classification] schools like Cincinnati Moeller, Cincinnati La Salle, Cincinnati Princeton, Cincinnati Elder and other private schools like Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. In my mind it is the toughest Division 1 high school football conference in Ohio. During his injury shortened sophomore season, Clifford completed over 60-percent of his passes for 762 yards and 8 TDs. He also rushed for 217 yards and 2 TDs.
When you look at Clifford's 2014 hudl football highlight video what immediately impressed me was his accuracy throwing the football, especially went delivering the most difficult pass for any QB the deep down and out sideline pass. Clifford showed an excellent presence in the pocket, he has a solid quick release and a picture perfect throwing motion. He sets up well in the pocket and steps into his throws.
Clifford is also very mobile in the pocket and does an excellent job of squaring his shoulders to the line of scrimmage when he rolls out to pass. He throws equally well from the pocket and rolling out. If a play breaks down Clifford has the ability to create plays with his feet. In many respects Clifford reminds me of former 1970s Penn State QB John Hufnagle with his athletic ability.
Clifford is presently listed at 6-2, 203 by Rivals, but by the time he arrives at Penn State in June of 2017, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he ends up being 6-foot-4 and around 220 pounds. It's his size coupled with his athletic ability [4.6 40-yard speed], along with his maturity for his age that impressed Penn State's coaching staff the most.
In fact it was the level of maturity Clifford displayed in his interview with Ryan Snyder of our staff that impressed me the most about Clifford. He's fully aware that football is a team sport and that he needs to keep everything in its proper perspective. Clifford plans to help in recruiting for Penn State's class of 2017 and has already talked with Penn State 2016 QB recruit Jake Zembiec and Penn State freshman QB Tommy Stevens. Clifford plans to attend Penn State's Lash Bash barbecue this coming Saturday [July 18].
"Yeah, I got to talk to Jake [Zembiec] when I was up there for camp that day. He's a real cool guy and he's a great player. I got to see him at the Elite 11 and other camps. I know he's going to push me and that's important. All of these top schools have great players, I'm well aware of that, so it's nice knowing that Jake is a cool guy. I know we're going to get along well and push each other, but I know we're going to support each other, too. Whether it's me, or Tommy Stevens, who I also got to talk to a little bit, or Jake or whoever, I feel like they all have a good relationship with each other and just want to do whatever they have to do to win games. But I'm really going to get to talk to all of those guys more this upcoming weekend. I plan to talk to all of them in-depth this weekend."
Click on the link provided below to view Clifford's 2014 hudl highlight tape
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3066021/highlights/179859378/v2?utm_expid=74649800-50.qttEDvhsRhq8UxOskYCLgA.0&utm_referrer=http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3066021/sean-clifford
Even though Clifford had built a solid relationship with Penn State's QB coach, Ricky Rahne, Clifford really only arrived on Penn State's recruiting radar screen in full force after he was named the QB MVP at the Rivals/Under Armour QB Challenge in Cincinnati, Ohio back on April, 27. Off that performance Clifford ended up being ranked by Rivals as the 157th best overall prospect in the country and the 5th best overall prospect in Ohio for the class of 2017.
Three weekends ago [June 26-28] Franklin and his staff received an up close and personal look at Clifford at Penn State's Elite Skill Camp and after having the chance to have a long 30-minute conversation with Coach Franklin and Rahne, Clifford was given a verbal scholarship offer by Penn State.
When Clifford made his announcement on "twitter" yesterday that he had elected to attend Penn State, he had already assembled a dozen scholarship offers. That list included offers from Akron, Boston College, Cincinnati, Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern, Pitt, Tennessee and West Virginia besides Penn State.
In addition to his performance at the Rivals/Under Armour QB Challenge in Cincinnati back on April 27, another factor that caught the attention of Penn State was his limited sophomore season performance at St. Xavier. Despite the fact Clifford had some injury issues his sophomore season that limited his playing time, Clifford when he was on the field put together an impressive performance in the Cincinnati Catholic League which many Ohio high school football reporters believe is the top football conference in Ohio and one of the top 5 high school football conferences in the country.
That league and conference contains some of the most respected high school football programs in the state of Ohio. On a yearly basis St. Xavier plays top 10 Ohio Division 1 [Ohio's largest football classification] schools like Cincinnati Moeller, Cincinnati La Salle, Cincinnati Princeton, Cincinnati Elder and other private schools like Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. In my mind it is the toughest Division 1 high school football conference in Ohio. During his injury shortened sophomore season, Clifford completed over 60-percent of his passes for 762 yards and 8 TDs. He also rushed for 217 yards and 2 TDs.
When you look at Clifford's 2014 hudl football highlight video what immediately impressed me was his accuracy throwing the football, especially went delivering the most difficult pass for any QB the deep down and out sideline pass. Clifford showed an excellent presence in the pocket, he has a solid quick release and a picture perfect throwing motion. He sets up well in the pocket and steps into his throws.
Clifford is also very mobile in the pocket and does an excellent job of squaring his shoulders to the line of scrimmage when he rolls out to pass. He throws equally well from the pocket and rolling out. If a play breaks down Clifford has the ability to create plays with his feet. In many respects Clifford reminds me of former 1970s Penn State QB John Hufnagle with his athletic ability.
Clifford is presently listed at 6-2, 203 by Rivals, but by the time he arrives at Penn State in June of 2017, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he ends up being 6-foot-4 and around 220 pounds. It's his size coupled with his athletic ability [4.6 40-yard speed], along with his maturity for his age that impressed Penn State's coaching staff the most.
In fact it was the level of maturity Clifford displayed in his interview with Ryan Snyder of our staff that impressed me the most about Clifford. He's fully aware that football is a team sport and that he needs to keep everything in its proper perspective. Clifford plans to help in recruiting for Penn State's class of 2017 and has already talked with Penn State 2016 QB recruit Jake Zembiec and Penn State freshman QB Tommy Stevens. Clifford plans to attend Penn State's Lash Bash barbecue this coming Saturday [July 18].
"Yeah, I got to talk to Jake [Zembiec] when I was up there for camp that day. He's a real cool guy and he's a great player. I got to see him at the Elite 11 and other camps. I know he's going to push me and that's important. All of these top schools have great players, I'm well aware of that, so it's nice knowing that Jake is a cool guy. I know we're going to get along well and push each other, but I know we're going to support each other, too. Whether it's me, or Tommy Stevens, who I also got to talk to a little bit, or Jake or whoever, I feel like they all have a good relationship with each other and just want to do whatever they have to do to win games. But I'm really going to get to talk to all of those guys more this upcoming weekend. I plan to talk to all of them in-depth this weekend."
Click on the link provided below to view Clifford's 2014 hudl highlight tape
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3066021/highlights/179859378/v2?utm_expid=74649800-50.qttEDvhsRhq8UxOskYCLgA.0&utm_referrer=http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3066021/sean-clifford
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