A look at Penn State’s all-time 2,000-yard single-season passers and how the game is changing.
Penn State has a storied history when it comes to running the football, but the newer generation of football and the way the game is played is seeing the quarterbacks begin to have a larger impact on the field. And the stats certainly back that up.
Penn State doesn’t have a long list of passers who have eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark through the air the way some other schools have, but it is more and more expected that a Penn State quarterback will not only pass for 2,000 yards in a season, but go for over 3,000 yards in a single year.
Three quarterbacks in Penn State have history have multiple 2,000-yard seasons but [autotag]Trace McSorley[/autotag] is the only player in school history with multiple 3,000-yard seasons.
Sean Clifford is looking to catch and pass Trace McSorley for Penn State’s all-time touchdown passing record in 2022.
Penn State quarterback [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] is approaching several records as he enters his final year of eligibility with the program. That includes the school’s all-time passing touchdown record currently held by Clifford’s predecessor [autotag]Trace McSorley[/autotag].
This year is a big year for Penn State football as a whole. James Franklin has a new contract and Sean Clifford is looking to leave a lasting impression. With a successful year under center, the team should be following along with him. The question is where would this leave his legacy?
Historically speaking, Penn State has never been a program that drives its offense through the air, but in recent years the program has been trending in the passing game. Here is an updated look at Penn State’s all-time passing touchdown leaderboard entering the 2022 season with Clifford 15 touchdown passes away from tying McSorley for the school’s career record.
Will Sean Clifford become Penn State’s all-time leading passer in 2022?
While Penn State has never been known for it’s quarterback play, the team’s history books appear like they are about to change.
Presently, [autotag]Trace McSorley[/autotag] is the all-time leading passer in program history. Hot on his heels though is present starter Sean Clifford. Clifford is returning for his fourth season as Penn State’s starting quarterback while some fans are eager to see what comes next at the position with Drew Alar on deck. But before that page if slipped, Clifford has a great chance to rewrite some Penn State passing reocrds.
If he can stay healthy, then the all-time passing record should be Clifford’s. Notably, though, there are some surprising names in the team’s all-time passing ranks. Names like Clifford and McSorley are obviously in there but also players like [autotag]Darryl Clark[/autotag], [autotag]Christian Hackenberg[/autotag], and program favorite [autotag]Matt McGloin[/autotag] also make appearances.
While none of them outside of Clifford are still competing, their careers never stray away from Penn State fans. Look now at the team’s top-10 all-time passing rankings entering 2022.
Penn State is sending another quarterback commit to the Elite 11 Finals.
One of Penn State’s top recruits in the Class of 2023 is heading to one of the premier high school football scouting events. [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag], fresh off an impressive showing at Penn State’s White Out Camp, has received an invitation to participate in the Elite 11 Finals later this summer.
Stokes, a four-star quarterback according to 247Sports, committed to Penn State in April. The Florida native was recruited heavily by offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Yurcich[/autotag], who serves as Penn State’s quarterbacks coach as well. Stokes committed to Penn State a day after making an unofficial visit to the campus, and he has since made another trip to participate in Penn State’s recent camp.
The Elite 11 Finals are scheduled for June 28-June 30 in Los Angeles, California. Just being in attendance for this prestigious and highly competitive instructional camp is an honor itself, but the collection of some of the top talent in the country has proven to be a step along the way to some incredibly successful college careers. In all, 12 of the past 13 Heisman Trophy winners have attended the ELite 11 Finals or an Elite 11 Regional, and 15 of the NFL’s top 20 passers in 2019 attended the Elite 11 Finals or a regional final.
So, simply put, Stokes is already in some great company.
— Marcus “JOKER” Stokes🃏🥷 (@marcusstokes06) June 9, 2022
This is the second year in a row a Penn State quarterback commit has accepted an invite to the Elite 11 Finals. A year ago it was [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] who was looking to make a big impression at the Elite 11 Finals. Other past Elite 11 participants with Penn State ties include [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], [autotag]Christian Hackenberg[/autotag], [autotag]Rob Bolden[/autotag], [autotag]Pat Devlin[/autotag], [autotag]Anthony Morelli[/autotag], and [autotag]Zac Wasserman[/autotag].
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Penn State bowl history: Sean Lee’s defining moment and Tony Hunt running wild in the 2007 Outback Bowl
A season removed from a run to a Big Ten championship, Penn State made a return trip to the Outback Bowl at the end of the 2006 season. And up against a Tennessee team that was ranked and believed to be the favorite, it was the Penn State fundamentals of a strong defense and dominant running game that led the Nittany Lions to pulling away for a double-digit victory against the favored Vols.
Head coach Joe Paterno watched the game from the press box as he was recovering from a broken leg suffered in a sideline collision earlier in the season.
Heading into the game, the popular suggestion was that Tennessee had better athleticism across its roster, and that would lift the Vols to a victory over Penn State. But Tony Hunt proved that sometimes it just pays to be bigger and stronger on the ground. Hunt rushed for 158 yards on 31 rushing attempts to pave the path to a 20-10 victory.
But this Penn State team was still very much reliant on its defensive successes. Against the Vols, Penn State forced three turnovers and Tennessee was held to a season-low 10 points in the game. After the game, Tennessee head coach Philip Fulmer noted Penn State played the exact kind of style you should expect against a team coached by Paterno.
“You play against Joe Paterno’s football teams, they’re going to be tough, they’re going to disciplined, they’re going to be able to run the football,” Fulmer said. “I knew that, having been there before. I learned some great lessons from him the last time. If we take care of the football better, at least it’s a more interesting game there at the end.”
For three quarters, it was a tight contest between the Nittany Lions and Vols. Tennessee opened the scoring with a field goal in the first quarter, and Kevin Kelly responded early in the second quarter to tie the game at 3-3-. Penn State took a 10-3 lead later in the second quarter when Anthony Morelli completed a short touchdown pass to tight end Andrew Quarless to cap a 92-yard drive.
Penn State’s lead did not make it to halftime, however. Out-muscling future NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Sean Lee, LaMarcus Coker sprung loose for a 42-yard touchdown run with a little over a minute before halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Tennessee was marching into position for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, but Tony Davis returned a Tennessee fumble, which was forced by Lee, 88 yards for a defensive touchdown to put the Nittany Lions in front for good. Kelly would later add a field goal to extend Penn State’s lead to 20-10 to seal the deal against the SEC opponent.
“I didn’t want to let our seniors down, and I felt like I was letting the whole team down playing like that,” Lee said after the game, reflecting on his forced fumble. “I knew I had to come out in the second half and make a big play. I had to make up for that play.”
With the win, Penn State improved to 3-0 all-time in the Outback Bowl. But their next trip, four years later, would not go as well. But this was Paterno’s 22nd all-time career bowl victory, extending his lead in the all-time bowl coaching victories list.
What quarterbacks at Penn State have thrown the most TD passes as Nittany Lions?
Penn State isn’t famous for throwing the football all over the field. The Nittany Lions have had their share of strong quarterbacks, just not ones that you think of when it comes to filling up the stat line game after game. However, there have been plenty who have found receivers in the end zone for six points on a number of occasions. Here’s a look at how the Penn State record book shapes up when it comes to quarterbacks throwing for six points.
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford has a chance to be a top-three all-time passer at Penn State in 2021.
Penn State is hardly the first school you may think of when it comes to passing offenses, but the Nittany Lions have had some tremendous players at the wide receiver and quarterback positions over the years. And in more recent years, college football’s evolution to more of a passing game has started to rewrite the Penn State record book when it comes to all-time career passing leaders.
Entering the 2021 season, Sean Clifford is primed to easily make his way into the top 10 on Penn State’s all-time passing list, and he could move into the top three on Penn State’s all-time list, just behind the two quarterbacks who started before him.
Trace McSorley remains the school’s all-time leading passer, having the benefit of three years as a starter in an offensive system that was at the height of its game at the time.
Here is a look at Penn State’s top 20 all-time leading passers, including Clifford’s pursuit of moving up the board this fall.
