Penn State football quarterback Sean Clifford will don the blue and white for one final season in 2022.

The redshirt senior announced Friday he’ll utilize his extra year of eligibility and play for the Nittany Lions next season. Clifford has already spent five years in Happy Valley, but the NCAA granted all student-athletes an extra year due to seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

JUST IN: Sean Clifford will use his extra year of eligibility and return to Penn State next season. https://t.co/X4gICFzeZz

— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 10, 2021

“Penn State is more than football for me. It is family. My teammates, Coach Franklin, the staff and the community have shaped me into the man I am today and I am forever grateful,” Clifford wrote. “With that being said, I will be returning to Penn State to play one more season in the Blue & White. I could not pass up the chance to be with this family and play the game I love again.”

Penn State football is quite literally a family affair at the moment for Clifford. His younger brother, Liam, committed to the Nittany Lions’ Class of 2021 back in October 2019. The wideout didn’t record any stats as a true freshman this season, but the pair will presumably now have another chance to play together in 2022.

Clifford has started at quarterback for the Nittany Lions since 2019 as Trace McSorley’s successor. He’s made 32 starts over the course of three seasons, only missing one in 2019 and another in 2020. He’s dealt with injuries this season and was pulled from the Iowa and Rutgers matchups, but has started in all 12 games.

The Ohio native has totaled 7,644 passing yards and 71 touchdowns over the course of his Nittany Lion career. After a tough 2020 campaign, Clifford has bounced back in 2021 by tossing a career-high 2,912 yards and 20 touchdowns. Most recently, the gunslinger threw for 313 yards and three scores in the loss to Michigan State.

Outside of Clifford, the Nittany Lions have two other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster in Christian Veilleux and Ta’Quan Roberson. Veilleux is assumed to be the second-string, as he saw substantial time in the win over Rutgers while Clifford dealt with the flu. Meanwhile, quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula are waiting in Penn State’s Class of 2022. Allar is a five-star prospect who was just named Ohio’s Mr. Football, while Pribula is rated as a three-star prospect from York, Pa.