Penn State's James Franklin Shares an Early Senior Day Request

'I hope that he gets the type of appreciation and recognition that he deserves,' Franklin says of quarterback Sean Clifford.

Penn State coach James Franklin rarely looks ahead on the schedule. But he did last week to make a request.

Franklin peeked past last Saturday's visit to Rutgers (which the Lions won 55-10) toward Penn State's Nov. 26 Senior Day game against Michigan State. It will mark quarterback Sean Clifford's last game at Beaver Stadium, and Franklin wants fans to come cheering.

"I would love for that kid, not to get ahead of ourselves, but in our last game, on Senior Day, I hope he gets the type of appreciation and recognition that he deserves," Franklin said.

Against Maryland on Nov. 12, Clifford, broke Trace McSorley's Penn State record for career passing yards and became the seventh Big Ten quarterback to throw for more than 10,000 yards. The quarterback also has set school records for passing touchdowns (79), attempts, (1,285) completions (781) and still holds the career mark for completion percentage (60.8).

After Penn State defeated Maryland 30-0, several teammates called Clifford underappreciated.

"I think he's very underappreciated," said tight end Brenton Strange, who caught a touchdown on Clifford's record-setting pass. "We know what he brings to our team, how he runs our team, being a leader. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that a regular spectator wouldn't understand. I'm very thankful to play with Cliff."

Added tight end Theo Johnson, "We were just talking about this in the locker room with some of the other guys. And, you know, we think that he gets a lot of crap and hate. Sean's got every record you can have as a quarterback and he's done a lot of great things. I think that people are going to look back at his time here at Penn State, and I think they're going to say that he was the best one to do it."

Clifford was self-deprecating about his legacy after the game, saying, "I'm with them" when discussing some fans' desire to see a new quarterback. The four-year starter is scheduled to make his 44th career start Saturday against Rutgers. Some have shown fatigue with that.

Before the White Out game against Minnesota, a few fans booed when Clifford was announced as the starter. Clifford kept that in perspective as well.

"Somebody not liking me or not liking a throw or a boo here or there, realistically it’s fine because for me I’m just so content," he said after the Maryland game. "I enjoy every day. I love being myself and being able to have the experiences I do. I can’t ever be mad about my situation."

Franklin said he receives "a lot of emails that are "super-positive and super-appreciative of Sean and what he's done throughout his career here." He hopes that those positive emails represent a majority of the fan base.

"Typically the positive ones aren't as vocal as the people criticizing," Franklin said. "At least that's what I hope. That's what I want to believe.

"... So we'll see. Again, I don't spend a whole lot of time on it. I think over time Sean hasn't any more, either. But it's outside of our control, so [we] try not to spend too much time or energy on it. Focus on the things that we can control, which is playing really well on Saturday so hopefully people cheer."

Up Next

Penn State hosts Michigan State on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

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