UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State football quarterback Sean Clifford (5th round, 149th overall, Green Bay Packers) and wide receiver Parker Washington (6th round, 185th overall, Jacksonvile Jaguars) were selected on day three of the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday.
With the selections of Clifford and Washington, Penn State had six players in this year's draft class. With the six picks, Penn State is one of four schools to produce at least five picks in each of the last six NFL Drafts, joining Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State. The Nittany Lions have a total of 37 players who have been drafted in the last six NFL drafts, the most in a six-year span for the program since 1992-97 (39 picks).
A total of 381 Nittany Lions have been selected all-time in the NFL Draft, which ranks seventh among Division I institutions. Penn State has had 46 players selected since James Franklin's arrival to the program in 2015, including 21 taken on the first two days of the draft.
Sean Clifford
Clifford is Penn State's 10th quarterback selected in the NFL Draft and the third to hear his name called in the Franklin era. He is the 14th Nittany Lion selected by the Packers all-time and will join former Penn State offensive tackle Rasheed Walker in Green Bay.
"I could not be prouder of Sean for earning this opportunity with the Green Bay Packers," said Franklin. "It has been an honor to watch Sean grow into a man who exemplified our core values and what it meant to be a leader. His success was well documented, and his toughness, resilience and leadership will always be well respected. He has represented Penn State and our football program in the best light, which is a big reason why he was a four-year captain. I will always remember Sean for his ability to fight through adversity and lead by example. I am excited to see him chase his dreams in the NFL with the Packers."
"Sean put together a lot of great moments throughout his career at Penn State, and I am thrilled he will get the chance to do more of the same at the next level with the Green Bay Packers," said offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich. "This is a guy who has fought through adversity time and time again, but with the toughness and leadership he brought to our team, he always found a way to overcome it. Sean is dedicated and works his tail off all the time at practice, and that's why he improved as a quarterback throughout his time here. I am looking forward to seeing where Sean's professional career takes him."
Sean Clifford · QB · 6-2 · 212 · Cincinnati, Ohio · St. Xavier
- Finished his career as Penn State's all-time leader in wins as a starting quarterback (32), completion percentage (.614), completions (833), passing yards (10,661), total yards (11,734), passing touchdowns (86) and pass attempts (1,356).
- Closed his career finishing third in passing efficiency (143.8), tied for sixth in yards per passing attempt (7.9) and eighth in touchdown percentage (6.34).
- Left Penn State ranking second in school history in 200-yard passing games (27) and third in 300-yard games (8).
- Among Penn State quarterbacks, ended his career third all-time in rushing yardage (1,073) and fourth in rushing touchdowns (15).
- Finished his time at Penn State ranking second all-time in program history in touchdowns responsible for (100).
- Finished fourth in Big Ten history in career touchdown passes (86), fifth in passing yardage (10,661) and seventh in completions (833).
- One of two Penn State players to reach 11,000 yards of total offense and the only quarterback in program history to eclipse 10,000 passing yards.
- Owned 32 career games with multi-touchdown passes, including 17 with three or more TDs and six with four or more.
- Threw for at least 250 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in 11 career games.
- Finished with seven career touchdown passes of 70 or more yards.
- Completed 150 career passes of 20 or more yards.
- Finished his career with four of the top eight pass plays in school history (1st, 4th, T-5th, 8th).
- Had 11 games with both a passing and rushing touchdown and Penn State was 10-1 in those games.
Parker Washington
Washington is Penn State's 26th wideout selected in the NFL Draft and the fifth receiver selected in the Franklin era. He is the fourth Nittany Lion selected by the Jaguars all-time and joins Brenton Strange in Jacksonville.
"We are extremely happy for Parker to have earned this opportunity with the Jacksonville Jaguars," said Franklin. "Parker was an incredible playmaker for the three years he was with us. He has elite ball skills and great body control which allowed him to make a ton of plays during his time here. I have a lot of respect for not only the type of player Parker is, but also the thoughtful and considerate teammate he is. He always has a huge smile on his face and his positive attitude impacted everyone he came across. We appreciate everything Parker has done for this program and are excited to see him compete on Sundays. The Jaguars got a steal with Parker."
"The Jacksonville Jaguars just selected a really talented player in Parker Washington," said Yurcich. "Parker just has that supernatural ability to get open which will bode well for him in the NFL. He can get open in a lot of ways, whether it is in man coverage where he is able to use his skill and athleticism to create the separation, or being able to land into certain zones because of his ability to understand coverages. He made some unprecedented catches in big moments that helped our offense this past season. I wish him the best with the Jaguars."
Parker Washington · WR · 5-10 · 212 · Sugar Land, Texas · William B. Travis
- Caught a pass in all 32 games of his career.
- Finished with 146 career receptions, ranking 10th all time at Penn State.
- Posted 1,920 career receiving yards, good for 13th in program history.
- Recorded 12 receiving touchdowns, ranking 16th in program history.
- During the 2021 season, tallied 64 receptions on the year, good for sixth in a single season at Penn State.
- Finished with 820 receiving yards in 2021, holding 20th in a single season in school history.
- Set a Penn State true freshman single-game record with nine receptions in the Michigan win (11/28/20).
- The nine receptions at Michigan were the most by a Penn State freshman since DaeSean Hamilton against Ohio State in 2014 (14).
- With two scores against Maryland (11/7/20), became the first Penn State true freshman with two receiving touchdowns in a game since Pat Freiermuth at Rutgers in 2018.
- Tallied seven receptions in the Outback Bowl against Arkansas (1/1/22), tied for the third-most by a Penn State player in a bowl game.
- Selected Pro Football Focus All-Big Ten second team in 2022 and was tabbed All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches and media.
- Appeared in 10 games, making eight starts at wide receiver in 2022.
- Owned 46 grabs for 611 yards and two touchdowns.
The Nittany Lions return 43 lettermen for the 2023 season. Penn State opens the 2023 campaign against West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 2.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and ticket information for the 2023 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
More than 2,700 new season tickets have already been sold for the 2023 campaign.