UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa (WJAC) — After sitting out the last game of the regular season, Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford is expected to play next weekend when the Nittany Lions meet Memphis in the Cotton Bowl.

Clifford sustained an injury against Ohio State earlier this year, which appeared to be a lower body injury.

He missed the rest of that game, along with the game against Rutgers, as Will Levis filled in for the Nittany Lions.

Coach James Franklin said it's been a lingering issue for Clifford, which is why it was best to not play him.

The coaches wanted to have him at 100 percent for the bowl game, and he's expected to be just that.

"We expect Sean to be 100 percent. He's not full right now. He's taking most of the reps, but he's not 100 percent right now. We anticipate him being 100 percent. He's better right now than he was at the end of the year,” said Franklin.

"I just thought I was letting people down not being there, but at the same time the trainers really helped me out, the coaches helped me out a lot and I needed to take that game off. I wouldn't have been able to perform like I wanted to," said Clifford.

Clifford added that it didn't take as long as he thought it would to get back to playing, but at the same time there was a procedure to the recovery process.

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