UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford was named to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list, while redshirt senior linerbacker Jonathan Sutherland was tabbed to the Paul Hornung Award watch list. Both watch lists were announced on Thursday.
The Wuerffel Trophy is known as "college football's premier award for community service".
The Paul Hornung Award is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football.
Sean Clifford · R-Sr.+ · QB · 6-2 · 212 · Cincinnati, Ohio · Saint Xavier
- Also represented on Davey O'Brien Award and Maxwell Award watch lists.
- Has played in 38 career games, making 33 starts.
- Is one of three Penn State players to reach 8,000 yards of total offense and one of three PSU quarterbacks to eclipse 7,500 career passing yards.
- Sits as the current all-time leader at Penn State in completion percentage (.603).
- Ranks second at PSU in career passing touchdowns (62), third in passing yardage (7,839), completions (607) and passing efficiency (141.2), fourth in attempts (1,006), tied for seventh in yards per passing attempt (7.8), eighth in lowest interception percentage (2.49), and 10th in touchdown pass percentage (6.16) and wins as a starting quarterback (21).
- Is third in school history in 300-yard passing games (7) and 200-yard games (19).
- Among Penn State quarterbacks, is third all-time at PSU in rushing yardage (897) and tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns (10).
- Is second all-time in program history in career total yards (8,736) and touchdowns responsible for (72).
- Owns 26 career games with multi-touchdown passes, including 12 with three or more TDs and three with four or more.
- Has 16 career games with multi-passing touchdown halves and nine games with multi-passing TD quarters.
- Has thrown for at least 250 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in eight career games.
- Has six career touchdown passes of 70 or more yards.
- Has completed 105 career passes of 20 or more yards.
Jonathan Sutherland · R-Sr.+ · LB · 5-11 · 211 · Ottawa, Ontario · Episcopal (Va.)
- Has appeared in 45 career games, including three starts, at Penn State.
- Voted a team captain for the third time in his career in 2021, joining Clifford as the only three-time captains in program history.
- Earned bachelor's degree in labor and employment relations in December 2020 and is currently pursuing a master's degree in educational leadership.
- Is a five-time Dean's List selection and two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
- Lined up at linebacker and safety in 2021, making 24 tackles (13 solo), two tackles for loss, an interception and a pass breakup.
- Recorded first career interception against Rutgers (11/20/21).
- Blocked two punts against Idaho (8/31/20).
The Wuerffel Trophy, named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, is presented annually in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. The recipient will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
The Paul Hornung Award is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football by the Louisville Sports Commision in honor of the late football legend and Louisville native Paul Hornung. The winner will be honored at the annual Paul Hornung Award Dinner at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville in March 2023.
Penn State Football Recognized on 2022 Preseason Watch Lists
Ji'Ayir Brown: Jim Thorpe Award
Sean Clifford: Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award, Wuerffel Trophy
Theo Johnson: Mackey Award
Keyvone Lee: Doak Walker Award
PJ Mustipher: Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Outland Trophy
Joey Porter Jr.: Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Jim Thorpe Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy
Juice Scruggs: Rimington Trophy
Chris Stoll: Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
Brenton Strange: Mackey Award
Jonathan Sutherland: Paul Hornung Award
Mitchell Tinsley: Biletnikoff Award
Parker Washington: Biletnikoff Award
For more information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and reserving new season tickets for the 2022 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
More than 5,300 new season tickets have already been sold for the 2022 campaign.