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Trace McSorley set to leave Penn State a legend

By Barry Leonard Jr.

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions holds the championship trophy after beating the Washington Huskies 35-28 in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions holds the championship trophy after beating the Washington Huskies 35-28 in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /
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Quarterback Trace McSorley blossomed into a legend during his time at Penn State. 

Despite not meeting some expectations during the 2018 season, Trace McSorley will leave Penn State as a legend and one of the best players ever in school history. He didn’t end up on the Heisman Trophy ballot at the end of the year, and he didn’t lead the Nittany Lions to a College Football Playoff berth, but McSorley proved to be a winner during his three seasons in Happy Valley and will be a fixture in the Penn State record books.

Not a highly recruited player out of high school, McSorley was planning on attending Vanderbilt, but followed James Franklin to Happy Valley when he became head coach of the Nittany Lions. Coming out of Briar Woods High School in Virginia, McSorley was rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports and was the No. 15 dual-threat quarterback.

There wasn’t much hype surrounding McSorley when he arrived at Penn State, particularly because five-star Christian Hackenberg was firmly entrenched at the quarterback position. While the move may not have seemed like much at first, all McSorley did in his time at Penn State was become one of the best quarterbacks every to play at the school.

Fans got a glimpse of McSorley during the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl when he replaced an injured Hackenberg. When Hackenberg announced after that game that he’d be heading to the NFL Draft, McSorley acme the de facto starter for the Nittany Lions.

Over his three seasons at the helm of the Penn State offense, all McSorley did was win. With just the bowl game remaining in his collegiate career, McSorley already holds the all-time school record with 31 wins.

Besides that one, the senior holds several other career school records. Through his career, McSorley has passed for 9,653 yards, 75 touchdowns, 703 completions, 29 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, 104 touchdowns responsible for, and 10 300-yard passing games.

McSorley also holds single season records at Penn State, including: passing yards (3,614), completions (284), rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (11), total offense (4,061), among others.

As quarterback, McSorley led Penn State to a Big Ten championship, and two New Year’s Six bowl appearances (Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl).

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The numbers that McSorley has put up for the Nittany Lions are fantastic. Along with the numbers, McSorley has been a clear leader and a captain of the team. He will certainly be missed moving forward, but his name will forever be etched into the Penn State history books.

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