Penn State Football: Trace McSorley owns All-time QB conversation

In terms of the win column, program significance and statistics, Penn State football senior quarterback Trace McSorley leads the all-time QB list.

Entering the 2018 Penn State football season, many expected Trace McSorley to vault to the top of the PSU all-time quarterback list with authority. Instead, the offense was mired in poor receiver play, and McSorley lost confidence in the players around him. Still, the Nittany Lions finished the year at 9-3 and ended the regular season ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll. Although it wasn’t the best of situations, I believe the fifth-year senior QB stayed steady, and kept the ship afloat rather than fall off a cliff.

For three seasons, he’s done that for Penn State. For me, that’s the No. 1 reason he’s the greatest signal caller in PSU history. When the program needed stability on the field for the first time since the Sandusky sanctions, he was the program’s ray of hope. Yes, Christian Hackenberg was the first QB to battle for the Blue and White post-scandal, but the first wave of true, exhilarating success came via McSorley.

Winner

The team hadn’t won more than eight games since that time. From 2016-2018 with McSorley, they never won less than nine. He revolutionized the offense the likes of which no quarterback in Penn State’s history had seen. McSorley’s record of 31-8, as of the win over Maryland, leads all other signal callers by at least two victories. He passed national champion Todd Blackledge and fellow PSU great Tony Sacca to earn the top spot.

McSorley might not have a national championship to his name, but he has two 11-win seasons, a Big Ten Championship, a Rose Bowl appearance and a Fiesta Bowl Championship. He’s been a big-time winner from start to finish. Keeping a team at the top is no easy task. In fact, only Ohio State has rivaled his level of winning in the same stint in the Big Ten.

Stats, Ability Breakdown

Kerry Collins had a perfect season in 1994, and the offense averaged more than 500 yards per game. However, he didn’t have that level of success for a three-season stretch.

McSorley has. The offense has seen better days than 2018, but even when it’s been rough, it still ranks in the top third in the country in total offensive yards. He’s bred offensive success in his career. The numbers speak for themselves, as he’s the program’s all-time leader in completions (704), yards (9,654), passing touchdowns (75), rushing TDs by a QB (29) and that’s just naming a few. He’s leading in some of those categories by almost a whole season of work.

He’s recorded a more than 3-to-1, career TD-to-INT ratio with 75-to-24. Even though 2018 has seen a lot of bumps and bruises, he battled through a knee injury to close out the season with three straight wins. The team around him wasn’t nearly as solid as his first two years, but he boasts a 16-to-6 TD-to-INT ratio on the year.

The accuracy and completion percentage dipped, but he found ways to limit turnovers, something he did struggle with at times in 2016 and 2017. Those issues with accuracy are an aberration in a sense. A lot of incompletions have stemmed from drops, as McSorley has actually been quite an accurate passer in much of the last two seasons.

Penn State has had some successful scrambling QBs as well like Daryll Clark, Michael Robinson, and etcetera, but again McSorley takes the win here. Despite being the far superior passer than both of the aforementioned players, he has been just as explosive in the run game.

When the team relied on him for big running plays like they did against Ohio State this year (175 yards), he delivered time and again. His first two years he played second fiddle to Saquon Barkley’s ability. This year he became more of a 1B to Miles Sanders 1A. In addition, his awareness in the pocket is top-notch. He can sense pressure and get rid of the ball on time, just another element separates him from any of the past QBs.

To finalize my argument in the case for Trace as the GOAT in the Penn State Football QBs conversation, he’s got the whole package. The significance to the program, the wins and the stats all build up for him to go up against any other QBs résumé and win. I know some look at this season and have tunnel vision, but there’s no doubt. To me, he’s the best.