Penn State Football: Trace McSorley finds chemistry in recent games
A slow start in the Penn State football passing game saw life in recent weeks. A loaded receiving core is living up to its huge expectations.
A lot of Penn State football fans worried that the passing game would never find its stride. Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, starting quarterback Trace McSorley and this receiving core weren’t. From the start, things didn’t get off on the right foot. Whether it was inaccuracy from the QB spot or poor separation out wide, things didn’t look promising. Even though it started slow, the passing game returned to form.
Against Michigan, the air attack continued its climb up another rung. It showed that an efficient short game, and the long ball can coexist. Through the first six games, the offense used a shorter passing game, but last Saturday the long ball came back (Video Courtesy of Nittany Nation).
A healthy Mike Gesicki and a resurgent DaeSean Hamilton added an extra big-play dynamic. Hamilton, as mentioned in previous articles has rebound his freshman success. In addition, it took six weeks, but his chemistry with Gesicki on the deep ball is back. Although these two were key contributors last year, they connected on a better level last week.
Outside of the two key players that came back this year, some new faces have surfaced and seem more comfortable with the junior signal caller. Juwan Johnson sits third in all major receiving categories, but he rarely stepped on the field last year.
His consistency over the middle and leaping ability made him a perfect player to step into this offense. He hasn’t quite gotten the deep ball going this year, but his physique makes him a great target in the short to intermediate passing game.
McSorley has found a nice addition in Johnson using him on slants and drags. Iowa knows that all to well, sorry Hawkeyes, but he’s a clutch player that isn’t afraid to stick his nose in. Saeed Blacknall, DeAndre Thompkins and Brandon Polk finish out a deep group. Anyone can make plays and that’s why the aforementioned trio have produced a combined for 33 catches for 456 yards and two touchdowns.
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The offense previously focused solely on Chris Godwin, Saquon Barkley and Gesicki. All three deserve that recognition, but McSorley and this receiving core deserve some of that notoriety.