Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford will have the opportunity to compete with his peers while also shaping the next generation of college quarterbacks during his participation in the Manning Passing Academy this weekend.
Clifford will serve as a counselor for the second time at the event run by the Manning family — Archie, Peyton, Eli and Cooper — at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. The event begins Thursday and runs through Sunday.
It’s the 26th edition of the camp, and according to nola.com, it’s expected to host 1,350 campers along with 45 college counselors, ranging from Alabama’s Bryce Young and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett IV
who started against each other in the College Football Playoff national championship in January — to Kyle King from Division II Mary Hardin Baylor and Liam Thompson of Division III Wabash.
Other notable campers include KJ Jefferson of Arkansas, Phil Jurkovec of Boston College, Devin Leary of N.C. State, Will Levis of Kentucky, Aidan O'Connell of Purdue, Spencer Petras of Iowa and many, many more.
“It’s a really good group,” Archie Manning told nola.com. “I usually cut it off at 40 counselors, but we had so many guys that wanted to come this year that I couldn’t say no. I’m getting to be a softie.”
Arch Manning, the son of Cooper Manning, will be one of the campers. The New Orleans Isidore Newman quarterback is a five-star recruit and the No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2023.
The four-day camp features a variety of opportunities for high school quarterbacks to work with their college counterparts and hear from former pros Peyton and Eli Manning.
One of the highlights of camp is “Friday Night Lights,” which features a skills competition between the college quarterbacks.
For Clifford, his participation in the Manning Passing Academy is another step toward his sixth and final season at Penn State.
The Cincinnati native completed what coach James Franklin called his “best spring” with the Nittany Lions.
Clifford, who initially committed to Penn State in 2015 and arrived as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2017, is entering his second season under offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
There’s hope that the continuity and experience with Yurcich can help Clifford in 2022 be the quarterback he was for the first five half of last season as opposed to the second half.