Penn State’s all-time single-season 2,000-yard passers

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.

Remember that time Penn State lost the No. 1 recruit as a result of a coin flip?

Remembering the time Penn State lost the nation’s top recruit to Virginia Tech because of a coin flip.

When James Franklin was introduced as head coach at Penn State, he set a mission to dominate the state on the recruiting trail. Franklin has done well in securing some of the top talent from within the state on a fairly regular occasion, with some years netting more of the state’s top talent than others, but sometimes the best player in the state ultimately decides to go to a different school.

That was the case back in 2000 years ago when Kevin Jones committed to Virginia Tech over Penn State. It is a story that has lived with Penn State and Virginia Tech fans for years and was recently highlighted with a look back at the decision by The Athletic.

Jones was a multi-sport standout in high school and he was a native of Chester, Pennsylvania. Jones was the first recipient of the U.S. Army Player of the Year Award as a senior and he was rated as the nation’s top recruit, not just the top recruit in Pennsylvania. Naturally, former Penn State head coach [autotag]Joe Paterno[/autotag] wanted to keep Jones close to home, but the decision came down to Penn State and the rising national power that was Virginia Tech, home to Mike Vick and a legitimate national title contender at the time.

Jones ended up deciding to go to Virginia Tech and revealed his decision in one of the earliest nationally televised commitment decisions that has become so common today.

“If you’re a blue-chipper from Pennsylvania, you go to Penn State. But I’ve always been a little contrary,” Jones said to ESPN in 2011. “On the day of my press conference, I still hadn’t decided between Virginia Tech and PSU. As I sat down in front of everybody, I had both jerseys with me. I pulled the Penn State jersey out of a bag and said, “I will … not be attending Penn State.” Then I ripped off my sweater and had a Mike Vick jersey on underneath. The entire room was flabbergasted.”

It was an early signing announcement press conference stunt at the time, and it rankled many Penn State fans following the recruiting buzz along the way.

Jones has made it known it was a tough decision for him to choose between Penn State and Virginia Tech. Now, all these years later, Jones says the decision came down to a flip of a coin. And he flipped the coin in the bathroom leading up to his announcement. From The Athletic;

Jones had a Penn State jersey in his possession, but he also had a Virginia Tech one. His indecision leading up to the bathroom coin flip forced him to prepare for all contingencies.

So what if the coin had landed on heads? It is an amazing question to explore with our imaginations today, knowing what we know about what happened with Penn State’s football success and failures in the years to come.

It is unlikely Paterno would have used his freshman prize Jones as a featured quarterback in the 2000 season with [autotag]Rashard Casey[/autotag] entrenched as his starter. But freshman [autotag]Zack Mills[/autotag] emerged on the scene in 2001. Could that have been the beginning of Jones as Penn State’s quarterback? Would it have avoided a 5-6 season for the Nittany Lions? Very possibly. Mills was Penn State’s starting quarterback for the next three seasons before [autotag]Michael Robinson[/autotag] finally got his chance to lead the program back to respectability in 2005. Penn State went 3-9 in 2003 and 4-7 in 2004.

Penn State had losing seasons in three of the four years Jones played at Virginia Tech. The Hokies never quite reached their national title aspirations while Jones was in Blacksburg, where Frank Beamer was using the former No. 1 recruit as a running back quite effectively. It would seem things worked out for Jones at Virginia Tech overall, and perhaps he avoided the misery that was playing Penn State football during that rough era for the program on the field.

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Penn State’s all-time leading passers in Nittany Lions history

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’s all-time leading passers in Nittany Lions history

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.

All data is credited to College Football Reference. This list will be updated accordingly.

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