STATE COLLEGE – Liam Clifford naturally has been overshadowed during his Penn State football career, first by his older brother, Sean, the school’s all-time passing leader.
He’s also been overlooked with the presence of such receivers as Jahan Dotson, Mitchell Tinsley, Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
Clifford has emerged the last few weeks as one of the Nittany Lions’ most reliable receivers, making three catches for 104 yards in their 27-11 victory over UCLA Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
“That was awesome,” tight end Tyler Warren said. “Liam is one of my closest friends on the team. Everyone will tell you he’s one of the hardest workers on the team. He does everything right. I’m really happy for him that he had a game like that. Everyone was really excited for him.”
Clifford’s first catch came on third-and-11 in the second quarter when Drew Allar found him down the middle of the field for a 26-yard gain. Penn State scored its first points moments later on Allar’s quarterback sneak.
“I think it’s just him being in the right place at the right time,” Allar said. “His first two catches down the seam, he was really the second progression. He did a great job of getting behind the safeties and making tough, contested catches.”
Later in the second quarter, he made a 24-yard catch on third-and-4 to help set up Allar’s 5-yard TD pass to Warren. Then in the fourth quarter, he had a 57-yard reception on third-and-8, which came four plays before Ryan Barker’s 40-yard field goal.
“Obviously it gives us a huge spark when you convert those third downs,” Clifford said. “It helps the offense out a ton. Our room talks about that a lot. Picking up the first down on third down, the money down, is big.”
He now has eight catches for 177 yards (a 22.1 average) and one touchdown for the season.
“It means a ton to see all my hard work pay off,” he said. “I continue to trust my preparation every week. I give a lot of credit to our room and Coach (Marques) Hagans. They’ve pushed me a ton this year. That’s something I think goes unnoticed. We’ve stuck together through a lot.”
Special teams changes: Ryan Barker has replaced Sander Sahaydak as the Penn State kicker.
Barker made all three extra points against UCLA and also field goals of 25 and 40 yards. Sahaydak missed a pair of 40-yard tries last week against Illinois and is 2-or-5 this season.
“We looked at this week and the totality of what has happened all season,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “It felt like it made sense to give Barker his opportunity.”
Zion Tracy and Jake Spencer shared punt-returning duties in place of Kaden Saunders, who was listed as out on the pregame Penn State availability report.
Spencer, a transfer from Colgate, called for a fair catch in the first quarter. Tracy, a defensive back, returned three punts for 9 yards.
“We think Zion will learn from this today and have an opportunity to catch the ball,” Franklin said “He gives us a chance to make plays back there.”
Injury report: Penn State offensive tackle Anthony Donkoh left the game in the first quarter with an apparent arm injury. He did not return.
Posluszny recognized: Former Penn State All-American linebacker Paul Posluszny was recognized for his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Posluszny won the 2005 Butkus Award as the nation’s outstanding linebacker and won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player in 2005-06. He played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.
