UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State football head coach James Franklin announced senior safety Ji'Ayir Brown, redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford, senior defensive tackle PJ Mustipher, redshirt junior offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, redshirt senior long snapper Chris Stoll and redshirt senior linebacker Jonathan Sutherland each have been named team captains for the 2022 season.
Clifford and Sutherland become the first four-time team captains in the storied history of Penn State Football. Mustipher returns for his second season as a team captain.
Ji'Ayir Brown · Sr+ · S · 5-11 · 208 · Trenton, N.J. · Trenton Central/Lackawanna College
- Has appeared in 22 career games at Penn State, making 13 starts.
- Tied for the nation's lead with six interceptions in 2021.
- His six interceptions were tied for the 10th-most in a season at PSU.
- Became the first Nittany Lion to record six interceptions and two fumble recoveries in a season since Alan Zemaitis in 2005.
- Tied a Penn State bowl record with two interceptions in the Outback Bowl vs. Arkansas.
- Earned third team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches and honorable mention by the media.
- Recorded an interception as time expired to secure the win at Wisconsin to open the 2021 season.
Sean Clifford · R-Sr.+ · QB · 6-2 · 212 · Cincinnati, Ohio · Saint Xavier
- Has played in 38 career games, making 33 starts.
- Is one of three Penn State players to reach 8,000 yards of total offense and one of three PSU quarterbacks to eclipse 7,500 career passing yards.
- Sits as the current all-time leader at Penn State in completion percentage (.603).
- Ranks second at PSU in career passing touchdowns (62), third in passing yardage (7,839), completions (607) and passing efficiency (141.2), fourth in attempts (1,006), tied for seventh in yards per passing attempt (7.8), eighth in lowest interception percentage (2.49), and 10th in touchdown pass percentage (6.16) and wins as a starting quarterback (21).
- Is third in school history in 300-yard passing games (7) and 200-yard games (19).
- Among Penn State quarterbacks, is third all-time at PSU in rushing yardage (897) and tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns (10).
- Is second all-time in program history in career total yards (8,736) and touchdowns responsible for (72).
- Owns 26 career games with multi-touchdown passes, including 12 with three or more TDs and three with four or more.
- Has 16 career games with multi-passing touchdown halves and nine games with multi-passing TD quarters.
- Has thrown for at least 250 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in eight career games.
- Has six career touchdown passes of 70 or more yards.
- Has completed 105 career passes of 20 or more yards.
PJ Mustipher · Sr+ · DT · 6-4 · 321 · Owings Mills, Md. · McDonogh School
- Is also a member of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy watch lists.
- Has appeared in 40 career games at Penn State, making 16 starts.
- Named second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and honorable mention by the media in 2021.
- Made 21 tackles (16 solo) to go with three tackles for loss and a sack in six games in 2021 before suffering a season-ending injury vs. Iowa.
- Posted seven tackles and aone tackle for loss at Wisconsin (9/4/21).
- Earned the team's Ridge Riley Memorial Award.
- Was a semifinalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award last season.
- Selected honorable mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media in 2020.
- Tallied 35 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup in 2020.
Juice Scruggs · R-Sr. · OL · 6-3 · 310 · Ashtabula, Ohio · Cathedral Prep (Pa.)
- Has appeared in 21 career games at Penn State, making 13 starts.
- Started all 13 games in 2021.
- Has showed off versatility, playing guard and center at Penn State.
- Was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches and media in 2021, while earning Pro Football Focus All-Big Ten third team honors.
- Earned the team's Dick Maginnis Memorial Award, recognizing the most outstanding offensive lineman.
- In 2020, earned the team's Tim Shaw Thrive Award, along with Journey Brown, presented to a Penn State football student-athlete who has overcome adversities and been an inspiration to his fellow teammates.
- Is a two-time Dean's List selection.
Chris Stoll · R-Sr. · LS · 6-2 · 262 · Westerville, Ohio · St. Francis DeSales
- Penn State's primary long snapper for 35 career games.
- Earned a scholarship in the summer of 2020.
- Is a three-time Dean's List selection.
- Is in his third year as President of Penn State's Uplifting Athletes, a chapter that has raised nearly 1.4 million dollars for kidney cancer treatment and research since the first Penn State Lift for Life was held in 2003.
- He is just the second, three-time president in program history, joining Brett Brackett (2008-10).
- Was a Burlsworth Trophy nominee during the 2021 season.
- Helped Penn State's punting unit rank second nationally in net punting (44.5) and ninth in punt return defense (2.79) in 2021.
- Snapped for Big Ten Punter of the Year and Ray Guy Award finalist Jordan Stout.
- Helped Stout to four Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors, tying a Big Ten record set by Purdue's Travis Dorsch in 2001.
Jonathan Sutherland · R-Sr.+ · LB · 5-11 · 211 · Ottawa, Ontario · Episcopal (Va.)
- Has appeared in 45 career games, including three starts, at Penn State.
- Earned bachelor's degree in labor and employment relations in December 2020 and is currently pursuing a master's degree in educational leadership.
- Is a five-time Dean's List selection and two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
- Lined up at linebacker and safety in 2021, making 24 tackles (13 solo), two tackles for loss, an interception and a pass breakup.
- Recorded first career interception against Rutgers (11/20/21).
- Blocked two punts against Idaho (8/31/20).
The Nittany Lions open the 2022 campaign at Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 1. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
For more information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and reserving Penn State Football season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
The 2022 Penn State Football season is presented by PSECU.