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'Mind trainer' helps Penn State quarterback take next, biggest steps

Sports Pulse: College football offseason programs are set to come back on time but at what risk? USA TODAY

Penn State's Sean Clifford has fashioned himself a football perfectionist ever since he began throwing a ball.

And a confident one, at that.

It began years ago, as he threw for endless hours into a net in his cul-de-sac, when no one else was around.

That grew into a resilient high school star, then a kid who completed his first five college passes.

And now he's taken his mental approach to a new level during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic: He's training with chess.