🏈 🔵 What I Learned From My Conversation With Sean Clifford
At Penn State, Clifford experienced both highs and lows as a highly-touted Power Five quarterback. Now, he's shining as an incoming second-year backup for the Green Bay Packers.
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What I Learned From My Conversation With Sean Clifford
Hey friends,
Playing quarterback at a high level is one of the toughest feats to achieve in team sports.
Doing it with constant scrutiny and backlash is even more difficult to imagine.
For the majority of his six-year career at Penn State, Sean Clifford did just that.
From being benched as a second-year starter to becoming the Rose Bowl’s Offensive MVP, Clifford experienced the highest peaks and shallowest valleys college gunslingers can face.
In preparation for last year’s NFL Draft, Clifford didn’t even have an online profile. He also wasn’t invited to the combine.
Against all odds, Clifford’s leadership, experience, and charisma won over the Green Bay Packers who unexpectedly took the veteran with a fifth-round pick.
During Super Bowl week, I sat down with Clifford to discuss his resiliency, his approach in Green Bay, and what he’s learned from head coach Matt LaFleur.
Let’s dive into the details:
Resiliency Is Key To Success
Through Clifford’s six-year tenure at Penn State, very few gunslingers experienced the highs and lows of college football more than the gutsy Ohio native.
As a first-time starter in 2019, Clifford excelled by throwing for 2,654 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. He and veteran burner KJ Hamler combined for one of Big Ten’s most potent vertical threats, as Hamler exploded for 904 yards and eight scores behind 56 receptions.
However, the All-Big Ten honorable mention selection’s initial success didn’t materialize into heightened accolades during the Nittany Lions’ COVID-19 hindered slate in 2020.
Clifford was tasked with learning a brand new offensive system largely through virtual means, cultivating chemistry with two true freshman starters at wide receiver, and starting an all-conference season on the road to kick off his second year running the show under center.
Consequently, Clifford coughed up seven turnovers during his squad’s first four games, leading to him being benched in week five.
“You know how my story went at Penn State,” Clifford told me. “I think a lot of these viewers with the Penn State fan base [know] it was a lot of ups and downs.”
From there, Clifford battled more criticism and injuries, including a colossal shot to the ribs against No. 3 Iowa in 2021. The then-undefeated Nittany Lions dropped the top-five bout in Iowa City due to Clifford’s second-half absence and lost six of their next eight games as he continued to fight through his lingering setback.
Clifford never beat Ohio State during his career in Happy Valley. He picked up just one victory over Michigan during the Wolverines’ lowly 2-4 campaign in 2020.
However, his days as the Nittany Lions’ starting signal caller came to a fitting conclusion during a Rose Bowl victory over No. 8 Utah to end his lengthy stint donning the blue and white.
The nearly flawless display put on by Clifford amounted to a 92.4 quarterback rating. He completed over 76% of his passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns against a top-15 defensive unit.
Still, Clifford failed to earn a spot in the looming NFL Combine despite owning nearly every Penn State passing record his career’s conclusion.
“Let’s just call a spade a spade, I didn’t even have a draft profile,” Clifford said with a smile. “… The first month of the process was [slow], like seventh [round], undrafted, so not much conversation.”
Without being able to present his charismatic leadership style at the combine, Clifford channeled resiliency by making the most of each interview with front-office executives outside of Lucas Oil Stadium.
He was invited to Green Bay on a top-30 visit. With a glaring need to add depth behind first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love, the Packers and Clifford appeared to be a perfect match.
“I was talking to my agent, I’m like ‘I know that they’re not saying much, but I really do have a good feeling about this because I’m confident in my abilities,’” Clifford said. “… For me, it was like let me just get a chance, and that was really my message. Let me just show how much value I can add to your team.”
Every up and down of Clifford’s career was rewarded in the form of an early day-three phone call from Green Bay.
Against all odds, he was selected with pick No. 149 in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Packers — nearly two rounds higher than scouts initially expected.
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Respect Is Earned, Not Given
Clifford entered the Packers’ quarterback room with giant shoes to fill.
In fact, the shoes of a four-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and former AP Athlete of the Year formerly resided in the exact locker Clifford took over at Lambeau Field.
With longtime starter Aaron Rodgers on the way out after an 18-year tenure in Green Bay, Clifford was tasked with cultivating stability at a position in disarray following Rodgers’ free agency departure.
Immediately upon stepping foot in a new setting, Clifford knew it was his responsibility to form relationships off the field first.
Establishing trust across the locker room is pivotal for any quarterback, especially one attempting to replicate the production of a proven titan at the position.
“At this point, I feel really good about first and foremost the locker room,” Clifford said. “You have to gain respect amongst the players. You got to make plays, you got to be a leader, in your own respect. So, being able to do that, I felt like I gained traction throughout the year, and I respect all the guys in the locker room and they respect me.”
By all accounts, Clifford exceeded all initial expectations during training camp. The rookie played in three preseason matchups, and steadily completed almost 72% of his passing attempts.
Additionally, Clifford threw for nearly seven yards per completion and tossed just two interceptions in the face of new-look NFL defenses.
He didn’t try to be overly flashy. Similarly, he didn’t try to recklessly extend plays when his progressions amounted to check downs or throwaways.
Instead, he channeled his role as Jordan Love’s backup by emphasizing preparedness, while helping the coaching staff game plan for defensive cues and disguises.
“From a coach’s perspective, just talking to Matt [LaFleur] on a daily basis like, ‘Hey, what can I do to help in any sort of way?’” Clifford said. “You know, [hopping on] an extra meeting here, talking to a guy here, just anything that we can do... I’m really happy to be in Green Bay because it’s my type of place to work.”
Ultimately, Clifford’s hard work culminated in his first taste of live postseason snaps in the Packers’ 48-32 surprising drubbing of the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round.
Know Your Role
When Clifford was selected by the Packers last April, he knew he’d have to change his approach from his playing days at Penn State.
Instead of commanding an entire offense through a vocal leadership role, Clifford initially changed his tune.
He took a hands-on learning approach under the tutelage of offensive mastermind and Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur.
Despite being one of the NFL’s youngest head coaches at 44 years old, LaFleur boasts a wealth of experience as a quarterbacks mentor and play-caller at the highest level.
In 2008, the Michigan native received his first professional break, becoming an offensive assistant for the Houston Texans.
From there, LaFleur was hired by the Washington Redskins, Notre Dame, and the Atlanta Falcons before becoming the Los Angeles Rams’ co-play-caller under head coach and Super Bowl champion Sean McVay.
“That offensive system is fantastic,” Clifford said on the Packers’ attack. “What Matt [LaFleur] has done, he obviously has worked with Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, [and] all of them are such great minds, great play-callers. It was great to be able to be a part of that system in my first year.”
Aside from soaking in knowledge from LaFleur and company, Clifford took a backseat to other veterans to gain an early grasp on the NFL game.
Other than obvious differences including the two-minute warning and needing two feet in bounds to secure catches, NFL offenses operate at an entirely difference pace and style compared to college outputs.
With less space in between hashes, offenses are given a much wider area to freely operate. For quarterbacks, it naturally creates a more fluidity to attack both sides of the field equally.
“It’s like not even the same game as college,” Clifford said. “First and foremost, when you bring the lines in and you put the ball in the middle of the field the whole time, there’s no boundary. It’s awesome for the offense because you can really spread the ball out more.”
To check out my entire Podcast and conversation with Clifford, click here.
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Shoutout to Connor Krause for helping to write this newsletter and putting it together!
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