Penn State Football: Quarterback report post Rutgers 2017
Trace McSorley bounced back in a big way against Rutgers. Penn State football’s offense looked lost and headed for a rough day before he gave them a boost.
The wild man quarterback kept his head down and trucked through questions about his job in a 35-6 win over Rutgers. Penn State football found life behind the junior signal caller. He made perfect decisions and executed quickly. His ball placement didn’t put the ball in harm’s way, and he threw precise strikes across the defense.
Like I’ve mentioned in past articles, McSorley is taking what the defense is giving him. After last year, he knew he couldn’t live and die by the deep ball forever. Defenses adjusted, and McSorley progressed. He put up a masterful performance against Rutgers completing 16-of-21 passes for 214 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
There were a lot of crossing patterns and McSorley delivered in stride. When he went long, he found DaeSean Hamilton and Mike Gesicki behind the defense. McSorley displayed nice touch and great velocity when the situations presented itself.
Barkley also added 44 yards and a touchdown on the ground. His zone read on the opening drive jumpstarted a stalling offense. Sure the defense focused all its attention to Saquon Barkley, but he made two guys miss and accelerated to the end zone (Video Courtesy of Nittany Nation).
Through 10 games this season, McSorley has compiled 2,666 yards, 21 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, while completing 65 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 349 yards nine touchdowns.
The junior QB is clearly out playing a lot of last year’s numbers and film. He’s become someone the team can rely upon when things break down. Throughout the year he went through some struggles, but he received an A-grade last week.
A great weekend from McSorley was capped with the total touchdown record reaching 68. Any score from here on in is going to shatter the record. The win also moved his career record to 19-5. McSorley deserves a lot more positive feedback after a game like this.
Sure he had a rough game against Michigan State. But other than that game, he’s come up with a solid performance including the Ohio State loss.
Heading into the game against Nebraska, he deserves a little more notoriety for what he contributes to the program. A lot of people want to hand his success to Barkley, but he deserves a fair share of credit too.