Penn State Football: The argument for Trace McSorley as the Offensive MVP
Penn State football got another great season from its signal-caller.
Running back Saquon Barkley typically gets all of the attention when it comes to the Penn State offense. While the star runner once again had a fantastic season, there’s actually another player who stood out as the best player on offense. Quarterback Trace McSorley put together a stellar season and put up some big numbers leading the Nittany Lions.
When considering Penn State’s MVP on offense this year, look no further than McSorley.
With opposing teams building game plans around stopping Barkley and the run game, McSorley was given a lot of opportunities to make plays. He made big plays all year with both his legs and his arm and proved that he’s one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the Big Ten.
In his second full season as the Penn State starter McSorley once again put up fantastic numbers. He threw for 3,570 yards with 28 touchdowns. He also added 491 rushing yards and 11 scores on the ground.
McSorley accounted for at least one touchdown in every game this season and had multiple scores in 12 of the 13 games. The contest at Iowa was the only game in which he failed to score more than one touchdown. However, that was one of the games that cemented his status as one of the most important players on offense for the Nittany Lions.
Down 19-15, McSorley and the offense received the ball needing to go 80 yards in 90 seconds. McSorley stayed cool under pressure and completed seven passes on the drive, including threading a perfect seven-yard pass to Juwan Johnson on fourth down for the game-winning score.
In nine games this year McSorley scored at least three total touchdowns, including his five-touchdown performance in the win over Georgia State.
He ended the year with a big game in the Fiesta Bowl by racking up 342 passing yards, 60 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He came up clutch for the Nittany Lions on third down — completing 12-of-12 passes. That performance should help propel him into the conversation of best quarterbacks in the nation heading into next season.
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Penn State averaged over 290 yards per game though the air — the best number in the Big Ten Conference. The catalyst of those numbers was McSorley. For that reason, he deserves to be named Penn State’s MVP on offense for the 2017 season.