UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State redshirt senior quarter back Sean Clifford has been named a semifinalist for the fifth annual Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year. Clifford is on a list that includes 20 of the nation's top leaders in college football.
Compiled by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee, the semifinalists have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
Three finalists will be named for the award on Wednesday, December 15. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony in Frisco, Texas, on February 17, 2022.
Sean Clifford Notes
- Redshirt senior Sean Clifford is in his third season as Penn State's starting signal caller, having played in 33 career games, making 28 starts.
- The quarterback is a finalist for the NFF's William V. Campbell Trophy, awarded to the nation's top football scholar athlete and is a member of the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Class.
- Clifford, who was named to the Allstate Good Works Team, is currently a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy, owns a 3.45 cumulative GPA, graduated with a degree in public relations in December 2020 and is pursuing a second degree in journalism.
- The Cincinnati native is one of 25 quarterbacks being considered for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and is one of 40 candidates for the Davey O'Brien Award.
- He also began the 2021 season on the watch lists for the Manning Award and Reese's Senior Bowl.
- Clifford is just one of four Penn State players all-time to reach 7,500-plus yards of total offense and one of three quarterbacks to reach 7,000 career passing yards.
- The redshirt junior is one of 12 current FBS quarterbacks with 7,000 passing yards and over 850 rushing yards in his career. Clifford owns 25 career games with multi-TD passes, including 11 with three or more TDs, most by a PSU quarterback since 2000, and three with four or more.
- Clifford has tossed multiple touchdowns in a half on 15 occasions and nine different times has thrown multiple touchdowns in a quarter.
- He owns seven career games with at least 250 passing yards and three passing touchdowns.
- The quarterback has tossed six career touchdowns of 70-plus yards and has completed 94 career passes of 20 or more yards.
- Since 2000, Clifford's 64.0 completion percentage is the second-highest through nine games (minimum 200 attempts) by a Penn State quarterback, trailing only Trace McSorley (64.2%in 2017).
- Clifford has at least 2,000 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns through the first nine games of a season for the second time in his career. He joins McSorley (2017), Matt McGloin (2012) and Daryll Clark (2009) as Penn State QBs to accomplish the feat since 2000.
- Since 2000, Clifford's 2,371 passing yards are the third-most through the first nine games of a season by a Penn State quarterback.
- Clifford ranks fourth in the conference in completions per game (22.1, 16th nationally), fourth in passing yards (2,371, 21st) and passing touchdowns (16, 29th) and fifth in completion percentage (64.0, 49th).
Last year, Sam Ehlinger of Texas won the award. The first three Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year awards were presented to Shaquem Griffin of UCF in 2017, D'Cota Dixon of Wisconsin in 2018 and Trey Smith of Tennessee in 2019.
The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player's leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football's most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly's Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.
The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school's athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 14 years. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and ticket information for the 2021 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
The 2021 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.