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Tanner Morgan contacted Sean Clifford following Kirk Ciarrocca’s hiring at Penn State
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Penn State has hired Kirk Ciarrocca as its next OC, reaching into Minneapolis to lure Kirk Ciarrocca to Happy Valley.
Following a strong season leading the Minnesota Golden Gopher offense, Ciarrocca will replace Ricky Rahne as OC for James Franklin’s Nittany Lions. It is a big loss for P.J. Fleck’s team, including starting quarterback Tanner Morgan.
After seeing action as a freshman in 2018, Morgan took a big leap forward as a sophomore in 2019. He was engaged in a position battle during fall camp but effectively won the starting spot after an injury to Zack Annexstad.
Morgan completed 66.1% of passes this year while throwing for nearly 2,800 yards and 28 touchdowns. He helped lead the Gophers to 10 wins, and after Ciarrocca’s departure, Morgan contacted the next QB who will work under Ciarrocca.
Ben Jones with StateCollege.com shared the story:
Sean Clifford said that Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan texted him this morning with nothing but good things to say about Kirk Ciarrocca. Clifford and Morgan went to high school 25 miles apart, so friendly relationship there.
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) December 26, 2019
Both Morgan and Clifford were members of the 2017 recruiting class. Clifford was the No. 8 pro-style QB nationally while Morgan was rated the No. 44 pro-style QB for the class. Hopefully, the change works out alright for both players and teams involved.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.