Penn State football’s receivers left a lot to be desired last season.
Liam Clifford has an opportunity to help the group become better in 2024. The group overall likely has to be for offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s first Penn State offense to be a success.
Clifford is the subject of this edition of All 105, a Nittany Sports Now series profiling every Penn State football player.
Before Penn State: Clifford, the younger brother of former Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, played at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, becoming a team captain for his senior season in 2020. Clifford led the Greater Catholic South Conference in all receiving categories his senior season and earned the league’s Player of the Year honors. The year before that, he was the Greater Catholic South’s co-Receiver of the Year. Clifford was a three-star recruit according to 247Sports’ composite ratings and committed to Penn State in October of his junior season.
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 203 pounds
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
2021: Clifford redshirted his first season at Penn State.
2022: Clifford finished the year with eight receptions for 89 yards and no touchdowns. But 2022 was best known for what he accomplished away from football. He and his older brother helped launched Limitless NIL, a collective run to “build cutting edge brands and business relationships designed for the world of NIL,” according to its website. The collective has signed more than 50 athletes since launching last March. The Clifford’s sold Limitless to TEAM in February, but the two are still involved with the organization.
Both Clifford’s are likely to be successful well after football if their business keeps growing.
Last year: In what was a surprise move to many Penn State fans, Clifford was the team’s Week 1 starter at slot receiver. Unfortunately, none of Penn State’s receivers really separated themselves over 13 games, and Clifford was one of them. He ended the season with 13 catches for 130 yards, the longest of which being a 33-yard reception against Illinois in Week 3.
Where he stands: It remains to be seen what Penn State does to replace KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who entered the transfer portal. But with the roster currently as it is, Clifford would likely be competing with third-year players Kaden Saunders and Omari Evans for the WR3 spot.
A quote by Clifford: ”Something I’ve always dreamt of,” he said. “Watching Penn State when Sean was here and since I’ve been here, I’ve wanted to be one of those guys that can have his name go up on the board. That’s something everyone always dreams of when they step on campus. It was super cool. And I’m excited to keep it rolling.” — Clifford last September on getting his first college start.
A quote about Clifford: He’s a guy that just goes about his business. Tireless worker, has an unmatched work ethic, has kind of gone under the radar, but I think just based on Coach K’s (Andy Kotelnicki’s) offense, he’s really going to thrive in that and he’s going to be able to really help our team next year a lot.” — Former PSU TE Theo Johnson on Clifford at the NFL Combine.
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