Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford left the Nittany Lions game against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium with an unspecified injury and did not return. During the second quarter, Clifford was injured on a third-down pass play and went into the PSU medical tent, then to the locker room for evaluation. He appeared on the Nittany Lions sideline for the second half without a jersey or pads.

For Penn State head coach James Franklin, it leaves a question at the quarterback position. Franklin hasn’t given any update to the extent of Clifford’s injury, but reports are that backups Ta’Quan Roberson and Christian Veilleux have been working with the first team during practice.

A starter likely won’t be named publicly until about 15 minutes before kickoff of Penn State’s game against Illinois. But given the pair of backups are working with the first team, it seems unlikely that Clifford will be behind center against the Illini.

With the coming week’s matchup against No. 5 Ohio State looming on the horizon, pushing a less-than-100% Clifford would likely be the smart move.

The Nittany Lions host Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 23 with an 11:00 AM kickoff scheduled.