Penn State Football: 2019’s starting QB holds a lot of weight for program
Penn State football didn’t worry about the QB spot with Trace McSorley. This year’s QB must find success, or it could be the end of the James Franklin era.
A successful college football era doesn’t span through one quarterback. It sustains beyond multiple signal callers. In fact, that’s typically the number one position that consistent winning programs boast. Right now, Penn State football sits at the crossroads of that. Trace McSorley broke records and led the Nittany Lions to a 31-9 record in that span. Now that he’s gone, can James Franklin and the program succeed without him?
The answer to this question will likely decide whether the program continues with Franklin or not. Sean Clifford, Will Levis, or whoever starts at quarterback for Penn State carries a heavy burden. The starter will be tasked with making the offense potent once again and continuing what appears to be a successful era in Happy Valley.
Before McSorley arrived, Franklin was handed a rising star quarterback in Christian Hackenberg. In 2013 as a true freshman, Hackenberg threw for almost 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns against ten interceptions under then-head coach and quarterback guru Bill O’Brien. The Nittany Lions ended up with a 7-5 record and were primed for a brighter future with him.
O’Brien left to become the head coach of the Houston Texans after the season, and Franklin took over. The bright future never came to fruition with Hackenberg and Franklin. In 2014, the young QB threw more interceptions than touchdowns with a ratio of 12 scores to 15 interceptions. Although the Lions won in their first bowl game since the sanctions that season, it was evident Hackenberg regressed.
2015 wasn’t much better. Hackenberg improved his TD-to-INT ratio to 16-to-6, but he took a lot of sacks and never recaptured the 2013 magic. Franklin and his staff were 14-12 through two seasons, the quarterback play was sub-par, and Franklin was on the hot seat. Enter new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead and McSorley.
We know the story from there. Penn State sets offensive records like crazy and goes 22-5 over a two-year span, winning a Big Ten Championship win and snagging a Fiesta Bowl victory across 2016 and 2017.
Moorhead leaves, and Penn State football’s prolific offense struggles once again in 2018 with Ricky Rahne as offensive coordinator. The Lions went 9-4, and although the offense put up a decent year along with McSorley, it was a letdown no doubt.
The passing game struggled to find consistency, and the play calling was suspect. Not to mention, the struggles came with an all-time great quarterback under center, so they were even more glaring knowing it wasn’t the quarterback’s fault, but likely the blame fell on the staff.
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The correlation in Franklin’s first two seasons and the 2018 season was that there was no Moorhead. The team went just 23-16 in those three years and didn’t ever find elite offensive success. This year is make-or-break for him. The recruiting classes have been there, and receivers KJ Hamler, Pat Freiermuth (tight end), likely breakout candidate Jahan Dotson, etc. are there to make this team a success. The offense needs to prove it now without McSorley or Moorhead in order to keep the program on the right path under Franklin.