UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- What's it like to be the little brother of the starting quarterback?
A good player in one's own right, but also someone trying to make one's own name on a college team?
Penn State fans have known the name Liam Clifford for a few years, since the program began recruiting the wide receiver and younger brother of Sean. Liam was a 3-star recruit out of St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati and couldn't pass up the opportunity to play alongside his brother with the Nittany Lions.
He was a true freshman last season and, while he hasn't seen any game action yet, he's had a blast during his time at Penn State.
"It's been awesome," Liam Clifford said before adding, "It's been everything I thought it would be and more. And then obviously with Sean being here, I always say it's an added bonus. It's like having my best friend here, so it doesn't get much better than that."
When your brother is QB1, it's natural for people to look at you a little bit differently, right?
"A little bit, but not really," he said. "I mean, I'm my own person, as well. So obviously, people are gonna want to get to get to know me and who I am. Obviously, I think people will know me a little bit more just because of our name. But now, it's not so much different, per se."
Liam is 6-foot-1, 196 pounds and is said to have outstanding hands. Having the luxury of your brother being a college quarterback is clearly a plus because there's already a natural rapport there, and the two can work together even more on the side than usual in college.
But while Liam will get to play one more year with Sean, the younger Clifford isn't necessarily expected to emerge as a leading wide receiver target this season as a redshirt freshman for the Lions. So, the bulk of success that Liam ultimately may have in his career will have to come with the next Penn State quarterback, presumably Drew Allar or perhaps Christian Veilleux.
Regardless of who's throwing him the ball, Liam has already been able to capitalize on working with an NFL-caliber wideout last year in Jahan Dotson, and will do so again this year with Parker Washington as the Lions' No. 1 receiver.
Liam had nothing but glowing praise for Washington when asked what he's learned from him so far.
"I think Parker is one of the most skilled receivers I've ever been around for sure," he said. "He's got all the talent in the world, and he's also the hardest worker on the team. I mean, he's in here every day. He brings people along with him, like myself, and I mean, he does an incredible job leading the room. He's really stepped up and he's been killing it."
Washington helps the younger wideouts through leading by example.
"Coming in every day and catching the ball, catching jugs right in here, doing things after the lifts, doing extra stuff, hip work, ankle work, ankle mobility, all that type of stuff," Liam said. "He's always pushing us to do better, and we all follow him."
Getting back to his older brother, Sean isn't just the starting quarterback to Liam the wide receiver. Sean also is the boss of a company, Limitless NIL, while Liam is the chief of development. Limitless NIL is designed to help athletes get the most out of their NIL opportunities, through a company run by current college athletes.
"We want every athlete we sign to leave a better person than they came," Liam said. "So not only do we want to bring them in deals and bring them in money … we want them to learn about financial literacy. It's been a cool experience, and I wouldn't trade it for the world," he said of the NIL company venture. "I've had so much fun in the last few months working on this, especially doing it with my brother."
