Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1486024
2 6 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ON THE MOVE Penn State's offense shows signs of progress during the 2022 season T he Sean Clifford era is all but over for the Penn State football program. Whether that makes you sad, happy or indifferent does not change the fact that after four seasons, the Nittany Lions are a bowl game away from moving on to the Drew Allar era. Clifford's final season as a starter went much like the three that preceded it. The super senior had moments of brilliance, like a 4-touchdown outing against Minnesota. He also had games in which he struggled, like the 120-yard passing performance against Michigan. The Lions' 44-31 loss to Ohio State loss may have summed up Clifford's career best: He threw for 371 yards and 3 touchdowns to keep PSU in the contest, but his 3 interceptions played a large role in another loss to the Buckeyes, a team that Clifford never beat as the leader of the offense. Still, Clifford won 31 games as a starter and will leave with numerous program records. What stood out to head coach James Franklin about Clif- ford's time in blue and white? "Probably his perseverance through good, through bad," Franklin said. "The thing that jumps out to me is, he has maximized this Penn State experience in a way that I hope more of our guys do." All told, the Lions' second sea- son with coordinator Mike Yurcich in charge of the offense was better than the first. That was a mission accom- plished. There were dazzling displays at the running back position and a few other spots. And, there was improved play up front. We cover it all in our final position-by- position overview of the regular season. Quarterback Penn State crushed its opponents in November. That was true when it received above-average play under center and even when it didn't. Clifford was fine over the final month of the regular season. He did nothing spectacular but nothing poorly, either. In ad- dition, we routinely saw Allar in action in the second halves of games in which the Lions were able to build big early leads. He continues to flash the five-star promise that so many mem- bers of Nittany Nation are eagerly waiting to see in 2023 and beyond. Does he have areas where improvement is needed? You bet. But, he has a cannon of an arm, a willingness to fight for extra yardage, and a fine ability to survey the field, find an open G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G. P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M Freshman running back Nicholas Singleton finished the regular season ranked sixth in the Big Ten in rushing with an average of 78.4 yards per game. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE