He runs a lot more in his sophmore highlights but looks pretty good on the couple they show here. I don't remember the numbers exactly but i know Saquons 60 time improved a lot during his time here, why couldn't Seans?
Penn State 2019 Season articles
- Thread starter Judge Smails
- Start date
He runs a lot more in his sophmore highlights but looks pretty good on the couple they show here. I don't remember the numbers exactly but i know Saquons 60 time improved a lot during his time here, why couldn't Seans?
I really don’t get why people keep saying this. Was it rahne’s responsibility to catch the ball? He could have called the perfect play every single down and if the players don’t execute you can’t blame ranhe in “entirety”. Some yes, but all of it???
His brother is a 4* WR prospect. Not that hard to imagine it is true.
tboyer has mastered the art of authoritative-sounding post backed up by absolutely nothing but his hot air.
Please don't forget the power of his ignorance and his BS. The difference between McSorley's best 40 and Clifford's best 40 to date is miniscule. I'll go with the information supplied by Mr Galt.
There are a few top posters who drive much of the anti-Rahne train, even offering solid statistical analysis to the gap in offensive production from JM to RR. I'll admit such stats are difficult to counter.
However, those stats don't show the whole story. The 2016-17 offense had (1) arguably the single best RB in PSU history who never fumbled the ball (2) a healthy mobile QB (3) a TE who never dropped a single pass for 2 years (4) WRs that blocked well down field for Saquon and who continue do very well in the NFL.
In 2018, Rahne had (1) an injured QB whose mobility and subsequently overall effectiveness suffered most of the season (2) WR's who led PSU to the 3rd-most drops in the nation (3) a RB who was very good but prone to fumbling the ball, often at critical times (4) WRs who did not block well enough downfield to assist the RBs to score from anywhere (4) a true freshman TE just getting his feet wet in game situations.
Moorhead was the play caller who couldn't get 1st downs against USC, OSU, or SU when needed to hold onto the leads. It was Moorhead who called the same run in OT vs Minnesota that had previously resulted in losses throughout 4 quarters ... the indomitable Barkley scored a winning TD on it, adding to the "genius" label for JoeMo. Had Sanders scored on the 4th-and-5 call or even picked up a 1st down, perhaps Rahne would be free of so much criticism here.
I am unabashedly 100% in James Franklin's court. He's overcome obstacles that no other top-level coach has had to face: unjust NCAA sanctions ... reduced scholarships ... lack of depth all over the roster ... shockingly low OL numbers when he came in ... recruiting against the Big Ten's 2 darlings and 2 traditionally strong recruiting powerhouses w/in his own division ... officiating by John O'Neill & Crew (surely no PSU fan would disagree that 2014 was a win over the Buckeyes stolen by the crew).
James has coached with both Josh Gattis and Ricky Rahne since Vanderbilt. He chose Rahne over the former to be his OC. Same HC bucked the Division1 trend and hired Moorhead from Fordham to be OC.
I honestly don't know enough about the X's and O's of play calling to evaluate fairly any OC. Many on this board do. All I am saying is that while Moorhead did a terrific job in his 2 years at PSU, he had some talent that his successor did not have. With the defensive skills at Mississippi State, one would think a "genius" OC would have fared better than 8-5. I don't mean that to discredit JM, but rather to point out that there are often factors beyond what play is called that can cause a team to lose a game. I'd like to see Ricky Rahne get a shot with offensive talent that is at least approaching that of 2016-17 before the Penn State fans call for his demise.
Perhaps this year will tell us whether Ricky is The Man or not.
Last edited:
With the same talent (Fiesta Bowl), Rahne did an excellent job. I hate to burst some bubbles, but Rahne isn't on "the hot seat."
There's still six weeks before the start of the season for the naysayers to convince Franklin to FIRE. RAHNE.
.A 6-2, 220-pound quarterback is (Tommy Stevens nonwithstanding) nothing like a 5-11, 195-pound QB who runs so well NFL teams wanted to try him out as a safety.
There are all kinds of things that we just take for granted about McSorley because we got used to seeing it for three seasons, and some of these things are just not going to be in Clifford's game. On the other hand Clifford will do things McSorley couldn't -- probably challenge secondaries more with deep balls.
The PSU offense will be OK IF the offensive line can pass protect really well. If Clifford has time in the pocket, they have receivers and a TE who can get open, no question. But if they can't pass protect (and keep in mind we are probably starting a redshirt freshmen left tackle), Clifford will not be able to bail out the offense like Trace could.
And Rahne, I'm sorry, I just think when that offense was really under pressure against good Ds, it didn't play with confidence and focus, it didn't have the swagger it had the previous two years, and it didn't really improve - the inconsistency against App. State was the same against Ohio State and MSU and Kentucky.
Franklin did the right thing, blamed it all on Corley and defended Rahne. But I don't really buy it.
I'm hoping for the best. I believe what Franklin says -- anybody that smart who works as hard as Rahne works has got to be successful. So hopefully we see success this year.
There are all kinds of things that we just take for granted about McSorley because we got used to seeing it for three seasons, and some of these things are just not going to be in Clifford's game. On the other hand Clifford will do things McSorley couldn't -- probably challenge secondaries more with deep balls.
The PSU offense will be OK IF the offensive line can pass protect really well. If Clifford has time in the pocket, they have receivers and a TE who can get open, no question. But if they can't pass protect (and keep in mind we are probably starting a redshirt freshmen left tackle), Clifford will not be able to bail out the offense like Trace could.
And Rahne, I'm sorry, I just think when that offense was really under pressure against good Ds, it didn't play with confidence and focus, it didn't have the swagger it had the previous two years, and it didn't really improve - the inconsistency against App. State was the same against Ohio State and MSU and Kentucky.
Franklin did the right thing, blamed it all on Corley and defended Rahne. But I don't really buy it.
I'm hoping for the best. I believe what Franklin says -- anybody that smart who works as hard as Rahne works has got to be successful. So hopefully we see success this year.
How hard is this really? “Hey, kid. Don’t underperform.”
I agree people need to take it easy on the Rahne hotseat stuff. There were a lot of things that conspired against Rahne in 2018 to not give him the benefit of the doubt.
Trace was statistically one of the best deep ball throwers in the country in 2016. And he had one of the highest completion percentages in the country in 2017. Our offense would have been a shell of itself both years without Trace’s ability to buy time and keep his eyes downfield.
I am very high on Clifford but I am curious about his pocket maneuverability. As far as I can tell, we don’t have hot reads in our offense like other teams. I don’t recall seeing our receivers break off routes when a blitz comes. That puts a lot of pressure on our QB. When a defense brings more defenders than our OL can block, the QB has to account for the free rusher and make him miss. If Clifford is nimble enough to buy time, then we are in business. If not, then we will need to work in more screens and short passes into our offense (our passing concepts are a little deeper and slower developing than other teams—as evidenced by PFF stats that usually have us at the top of the B10 in average depth of pass per attempt).
Sean Clifford's stats so far;
CMP ATT CMP% YDS AVG TD INT LNG RTG
5 7 71.4 195 27.9 2 0 95 399.7
I'm not getting why some of our fans are looking for ways to down play this guys potential. I doubt there is a backup qb in the country that wouldn't love to start off like that. He's gonna be awesome, sorry to our resident naysayyers
CMP ATT CMP% YDS AVG TD INT LNG RTG
5 7 71.4 195 27.9 2 0 95 399.7
I'm not getting why some of our fans are looking for ways to down play this guys potential. I doubt there is a backup qb in the country that wouldn't love to start off like that. He's gonna be awesome, sorry to our resident naysayyers
The ever eternal optimists only see Sean Clifford throwing 95 yard touchdown passes every time he takes the field. The naysayers remember the last time they saw him and it was in a "real game" against a quality defense (KY) - and he went 0 for 2, was sacked once, and looked pretty shaky overall.
My guess is the real Sean Clifford is somewhere in between those two extremes and I will celebrate the good times and try and remain patient through the (inevitable) bad times.
I remember Clifford throwing a nice deep ball against KY on his first snap that should have been caught. I am high on Clifford and think he will be very good. But you never know how good someone will be until the bullets start flying and defenses get some tape to study. Time will tell.
Looked pretty shaky overall? His first pass was a 55 yard bomb that hit Thompkins right in the hands in stride. Should have been a huge play. The other pass was overthrown but, Fries was being pushed back into Clifford and he couldn't follow through on his pass. Even so, it was barely overthrown.
Clifford can and will run with the ball with success. He only has to keep defenses honest. Quit with the myth you are ‘spinning’ that Sean is cement-footed. He ran the RPO or something very similar at Xavier against top level competition and was successful. Cut it out for chrissakes.
We had the 2nd drafted RB in the NFL draft and probably the best freshman TE in the country who is already a more well-rounded player than Gesicki. There were way too many drops at wideout, but let's not pretend there wasn't still a ton of talent on last year's offense. The unit under-performed
Mississippi State was 15 spots below PSU in total offense. I guess JoeMo is dumber than Rahne then.
It's 111k strong for the White Out games.
Ranking Big Ten stadiums by toughness this season
ByBRAD CRAWFORD
Will the Big Ten end its two-year hiatus and return to the College Football Playoff this fall?
If the league can overcome potential cannibalization of elites during league play, there's a handful of teams capable of making a run.
This league's fans are incredibly hungry ever fall, anxious to devour the opposing team as soon as they trot out of the locker room for pre-game warmups. Looking ahead to the 2019 season, which is set to begin next month, some of the nation's most raucous environments — to no one's surprise — reside in the Big Ten.
We've included six stadiums in our Big Ten venue rankings we consider will be toughest to win at for opposing teams this season, environments that will undoubtedly play a role in the outcomes of games:
I'm putting Penn State as the toughest place to play in the Big Ten this fall.
BEAVER STADIUM
(Photo: 247Sports)
Why it'll be tough: If you've ever experienced a primetime whiteout in Happy Valley, you'll know Beaver Stadium transforms into an opponent-eating entity with crowd volume reaching NASCAR decibel levels. At field level under the lights, Penn State does a great job of hiding much of its 106,000 strong in a dark, end zone abyss at the south and north ends of the stadium. All you hear as an opposing player is deafening noise coming from behind and just ahead of you, unsure exactly how many fans want you to make a mistake.
Ranking Big Ten stadiums by toughness this season
ByBRAD CRAWFORD
Will the Big Ten end its two-year hiatus and return to the College Football Playoff this fall?
If the league can overcome potential cannibalization of elites during league play, there's a handful of teams capable of making a run.
This league's fans are incredibly hungry ever fall, anxious to devour the opposing team as soon as they trot out of the locker room for pre-game warmups. Looking ahead to the 2019 season, which is set to begin next month, some of the nation's most raucous environments — to no one's surprise — reside in the Big Ten.
We've included six stadiums in our Big Ten venue rankings we consider will be toughest to win at for opposing teams this season, environments that will undoubtedly play a role in the outcomes of games:
I'm putting Penn State as the toughest place to play in the Big Ten this fall.
BEAVER STADIUM
(Photo: 247Sports)
Why it'll be tough: If you've ever experienced a primetime whiteout in Happy Valley, you'll know Beaver Stadium transforms into an opponent-eating entity with crowd volume reaching NASCAR decibel levels. At field level under the lights, Penn State does a great job of hiding much of its 106,000 strong in a dark, end zone abyss at the south and north ends of the stadium. All you hear as an opposing player is deafening noise coming from behind and just ahead of you, unsure exactly how many fans want you to make a mistake.
OZone
The lack of respect given to OSU, 3rd in BIG with 6 SEC teams Power indexed above us by ESPN is a disgrace.. * - CrystalCoastBuck [17:18:15 07/14/19] (18)
Who else do they have above OSU besides Michigan? * - Gerd [17:32:19 07/14/19] (5)
The lack of respect given to OSU, 3rd in BIG with 6 SEC teams Power indexed above us by ESPN is a disgrace.. * - CrystalCoastBuck [17:18:15 07/14/19] (18)
Who else do they have above OSU besides Michigan? * - Gerd [17:32:19 07/14/19] (5)
- penn state. sparty is 14th as well iirc * - Brutus [17:33:45 07/14/19] (4)
- Penn State? I'll take that bet. * - Gerd [17:39:40 07/14/19] (3)
I think its board policy to favor any coach other than our own. Everyone here knows that if a player or group under performs...its coaching or lack there of. We had the only WR Coach who practiced drops. We are less than a full season away (possible) for some nitwits to call for JoeMo's return as HFC and CJF to stay as recruiting coordinator. LOL
"Keeping the defense honest" is not the same as running for 30 TDs and 1700 yards in 3 seasons. All I'm saying is it's gonna be different without a QB who runs like a running back. Defenses will prepare differently, and they can target the backfield without having to designate a spy.
Really? Trace had his most carries, most yds rushing, highest ypc and, his highest number of rushing TDs and it produced the worst of his 3 seasons. His highest QB rating came during the season where he had the least amount of rushing yards and carries.
You are right... there were so many dropped passes last year I forgot about that first one to Thompkins.
It was a very good ball. Thompkins was well covered. Clifford put it in a good place but Thompkins couldn’t make the contested catch. IMO, our inability to win contested catches last year was an even bigger issue than the drops. Think about the National Championship game this year. Clemson’s receiver’s were making all sorts of contested catches. As good as Lawrence is, Clemson would have been dead in the water without guys who can go up and make plays on the outside. The idea that QBs regularly hit guys in stride all over the field is wrong. That doesn’t happen at any level. There are often too many variables at play. (Release, route running technique, weather conditions, pass rush, etc.). Modern offenses need guys who can either make space or win contested catches. If we improve in those areas, we will be tough to beat.
From Phil Steele's magazine
Teams with 4 or more close wins in a season, win the same or FEWER 84% of the time. This applies to Ohio State. He predicts an 85% chance that Ohio State and Wisconsin decline because of SOS.
Teams with 4 or more close wins in a season, win the same or FEWER 84% of the time. This applies to Ohio State. He predicts an 85% chance that Ohio State and Wisconsin decline because of SOS.
OMG OMG OMG.
This is ALA, this is CLEM type ability. Add in Parsons and everyone else. The time just might be now if the QB play is any good.
For whatever reason, Pat F wasn't featured nearly as much as Gesicki. True freshman, Rahne, Trace... Could be anything, but for as good as he was (and eventually will be) he was not a go-to guy to move the sticks or in the red zone. He should have been considering our WRs drops, but alas...
Sanders was probably better than we realized, but it doesn't change the fact that he didn't have Barkley's explosive ability to take any touch into the end zone. There was times we'd ignore him, then there were times we'd give him the ball 12 times for 30 yards. Going from a guy who I think fumbled once to a guy with seemingly in opportune fumbles is noticable.
Offensively, we just never clicked last year. Slight downgrade in talent meant slight downgrade in record.
Brandon Smith sure looks physically ready. What’s extremely exciting is that he will likely be much further along mentally than Micah was last year, since unlike Micah, Smith has been playing LB all along
I think you're getting the causality backwards. Trace running a lot last season didn't make the PSU offense sputter. The sputtering offense and lack of trust in the receivers caused him to run too much. I doubt you're arguing that if Trace ran a 4.7 instead of a 4.5 that he would have been a more effective quarterback.
It wasn't just Freiermuth. In 2017, we had 4 players with over 50 catches. Hamler lead the team in 2018 with just 41. In 2018, Trace completed 175 passes compared to 284 completions in 2017.
PS Did you know that Freiermuth's 8 TD catches was 2nd in TD catches for all TEs.
Here is a tip, wait and watch Clifford play a few games before typing more foolish not true stuff.
No, I'm arguing that a 4.7 QB with a stronger more accurate arm is just as capable, if not more so, of running this offense the way it is meant to be run and, there is less of a chance of injury.
Pat F has Gronk like ability. For as spectacular of a year that he had, his stats could have been 25-50% better. He was never double teamed. Feed him the ball until it opens something else up.
Trace's completion stat alone shows the downturn in our offense. We were either very lucky or coached up well enough that poor offensive production didn't hinder us from winning the games we won.
With upgraded talent, we are poised to go 11-1 in my book. (Undefeated is becoming less common)
No doubt Trace was remarkable during his career at Penn State, but you seem to be conveniently forgetting his injuries for much of the 2nd half of last year, which significantly limited his running and even throwing abilities. It arguably cost us the Ohio State game (although Dwayne Haskins was the real difference maker), definitely cost us in the ugly loss to Sparty at home ~ and rendered the offense completely ineffective against Michigan at home as well. You can’t dismiss his restricted playmaking abilities during our key losses and what a difference it might have been had he been healthy and played the way Trace is capable of playing.
That said, he’s gone and now we get Sean Clifford taking over the reigns. He’s bigger, stronger, been in the program for 2 years as an understudy to Trace, and likely has the better throwing arm with accuracy on all his throws. Sure the offensive line has to do their job, but they too should be deeper and most have been highly recruited and in the program for a few years. We should be deeper and better at RB, deeper and better at WR and likely have the best group of TE’s in the conference. We’re young, but so is everyone else within today’s FBS, with the transfer portal and freshman 4-game eligibity rules.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
Football The Official 2025 DC Search Thread (1/24 UPDATE - PENN STATE LOOKING GOOD?)....- Latest: Dylan Callaghan-Croley
-
-
-