Penn State Football: Trace McSorley, Miles Sanders earn All-Big Ten offensive honors

Penn State football is well-represented on the All-Big Ten teams this season. 

For their efforts during the regular season, several Penn State football players have been honored by the Big Ten Conference. Led by quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Miles Sanders, the Nittany Lions earned numerous honors from the conference.

McSorley and Sanders both landed on the All-Big Ten second team. For McSorley, he becomes the first Penn State quarterback to earn all-conference honors three times during his career.

Entering this season, there were high expectations for the Nittany Lions, as McSorley returned as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He started the season strong, but went through a bit of a struggle to end the year after suffering a knee injury against Iowa.

Still, McSorley finished the regular season with 2,284 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran 151 times for a career-high 723 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 13.05 yards per completion was tops in the Big Ten.

He’ll leave Penn State as the holder of many school records and will go down as one of the best quarterbacks to ever wear the blue and white.

McSorley is already Penn State’s all-time leader in wins, and will get a chance to add to it in the bowl game.

Sanders got an opportunity to be the lead man in Penn State’s backfield after the departure of star running back Saquon Barkley. He preformed admirably, rushing 207 times for 1,223 yards and nine touchdowns, good enough for No. 2 in the Big Ten.

The sophomore started his season with two touchdowns in the season opener against Appalachian State and racked up five 100-yard games throughout the year. His best game came against Illinois, when he rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns.

Aside from McSorley and Sanders, five other Penn State offensive players were recognized by the conference.

Linemen Ryan Bates and Connor McGovern were both honored as All-Big Ten third-team selections. Wide receiver KJ Hamler, offensive lineman Steven Gonzalez, and true freshman tight end Pat Freiermuth were honorable mentions.