Penn State football starting quarterback Sean Clifford said on a conference call with reporters that he received death threats following his team’s 31-26 defeat to Minnesota in week 11 of the college football season.

Clifford first said that he deletes his social media apps “throughout the week” and “closer to the game[s]” before revealing that he “completely deleted it” after the Minnesota game.

“It’s kind of sad to see how some fans get. They get a little crazy,” Clifford said. “I was sick and tired of getting death threats and some pretty explicit and tough-to-read messages. You learn how to deal with certain things and how certain people will react. It’s a very passionate game with some very passionate people. I just try to stay away from [the negativity]. I appreciate all the positive people that are around, but there are also people who will try to tear you down.”

The redshirt sophomore didn’t share any details regarding specifics about the threats, but he did say that “there are certain things I wish fans wouldn’t say.” As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Clifford’s verified Twitter and Instagram accounts are still active.

Although the Minnesota game brought out the worst that social media has to offer, Clifford doesn’t think the platform is completely awful.

“I’m not saying social media is a bad thing,” he added. “I really have enjoyed experiencing social media, being able to interact with fans, and sharing content that other people want to see. It’s a bummer when people take it different. People go over the top where I would never to experience some of the things that people say.

“At the same time, I understand the position I’m in. There’s a lot of passion in this sport. I try not to look at everything anyway. Closer to games, I just try to log off.”

Clifford completed 23 of his 43 passes in the game for 340 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions. His last pass of the game was picked off by Minnesota’s Jordan Howden with 1:01 left and Penn State trailing by five points. Despite the defeat, Penn State has a 9-1 record and currently occupies a spot in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll, Coaches’ Poll, and the College Football Playoff committee’s top 25 rankings.

The Nittany Lions will head to Columbus for a top-10 matchup with No. 2 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten). Kickoff is slated for noon Saturday, and the game will be broadcast nationally on FOX.