Penn State coach James Franklin is optimistic that quarterback Sean Clifford’s health and durability heading into a Week 5 meeting against Northwestern are perfectly fine and no cause for immediate concern.
“The way we’ve been able to get him out of almost every game, it’s valuable,” Franklin said on Wednesday following practice. “So far, so good. He’s in a really good position, probably as good as he’s been at this point in the season.”
Clifford, of course, is no stranger to injuries, having twice been knocked out of a game due to physical hits by defenders — once during the 2019 season against Ohio State and then again last year against Iowa in Iowa City. Prior to Clifford’s first half injury, Penn State was beating the Hawkeyes and looking the better team before eventually falling late in the game. The injury and Clifford’s departure from that game effectively marked the turning point of the season as the Nittany Lions’ 5-0 start turned into a 7-6 finish.
In the opening week of this season, Clifford took a low hit from a Purdue defender and crumpled to the ground before bouncing back to his feet. After the game Clifford credited a knee brace on his left leg for saving him from any serious injury. Clifford noted at the time he wore the brace on a whim — how true that is a subject left to conspiracists. Nevertheless, all of Penn State’s quarterbacks practice with a knee brace, but Clifford had not wore one during competition on a regular basis up until that point.
In either case, Clifford appeared fully healthy and happy on Wednesday. While perception and reality can often be two very different things, Clifford’s health, and Franklin’s endorsement of his health on Wednesday appeared to fly in the face of a growing but unsubstantiated rumor on message boards that Clifford would sit out this weekend to nurse a lingering knee injury.
While that certainly could turn out to be the case come Saturday as Penn State has grown increasingly skilled at masking any ailments during the time the media is present at practice, there was no reason to think that was the case as the rain fell and Penn State finished off its latest practice of the year.
