The story on how McSorley almost didn't go to PSU
- Thread starter Richie O
- Start date
Good stuff. I recall going to Blue/white where PSU had two physically gifted QBs in front of McS. You could see that the offense simply performed better, was organized, with him behind center. To me it pointed out the value of a smart QB over a physically gifted one and also the value of a blue/white game to see how the QB manages the offense.
That is because Trace could only handle 25% of the play book. Trace was the weakest link on the team from 2016 to 2018 costing us two playoff appearances along the way.
Umm, Penn State won 31 games in the 3 years he started. He was a good athlete ( undersized) , with excellent hand/eye coordination, and decision making ability/smarts ( not sure where your magical 25% comes from) . Some of this was natural instinct, as he was simply a winner…. And had been most of his life
Top 5 dumbest posts of all time.
It is pretty easy to make decisions when you are presented with a binary choice. That is what I mean by simple. The offense JoeMo wanted to run in 2016 (later fully implemented by Joe Brady during LSU's run) was struggling during the first half of the 2016 season because Trace could only execute a small portion of the playbook. He dialed the offense back by 75% after the debacle against Michigan to make it easier for his skill limited QB to run. He had a total of 1 decision on most plays, 0 or 2 on the rest. This is the myth of McSorley. Great guy, Great warrior. Gutty competitor. Very average dual threat QB whose biggest impact with the exception of the 2018 Appy State was almost always in a loss.
You're all wet. Walk-off win vs. Iowa 2017, 21-19.
Which had very little to do with Trace. A rare close game he didn't find a way to lose when he had the chance. That game was all about Iowa shifting its defense on the final drive. They inexplicably shifted and they lost. He really had no part of the win other than being on the field. This is part of the myth. He gets credit for the greatness of others.
Talk about stuck on stupid. Everyone saw the real Trace McSorley in 2018 and his so-called injury had nothing to do with it. He was a bottom four QB in the Big Ten while the defense, the O-line and Miles Sanders carried the team.
Uuuhh yeah. That explains why he was the number two QB with the Ravens is now with the Arizona Cardinals. Those teams seriously dumbed down their playbook........obviously.
He was a practice only player with the Ravens and serves the same role with the Cardinals. He is a glorified practice squad player. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Lolololol. Those teams would really use a QB so dumb that he can only remember two plays? That’s great for practice! Really helps the team prep for games against the best in the world.
That's an interesting take. As I recall, in Trace's early games, the PSU offense looked terrible until halftime of the Pitt game when they opened up the playbook and switched to the read option.
I don't wear rose colored glasses. The archives will show me making comments during the B1G championship year about Trace chucking up 50/50 balls and having the WRs to outcompete the DBs, but there is no question that Trace is a winner. He finds ways to win in tough situations.
If PSU was down 5 with 2 minutes to go, pick one QB from the last 20 years that you would like to be under center. There is no question it's Trace. (FWIW, I'd probably put MRob in #2. He was also a winner. Not the best QB, but the guy found a way to get it done.) I don't think anyone else is in the conversation.
Conversely, you have guys like Donovan McNabb. McNabb was obviously a better QB than Trace, but McNabb lacked something. Charitably, I'll grant that he lacked great receivers for most of his career, but as I recall, McNabb never in his NFL career, had a last possession, game winning TD drive. Not a single one. He certainly was good enough that the eagles won a lot of games by 2 TDs, but when it was close, he wasn't the clutch guy to carry the team on his back.
Trace McSorley’s memorable Penn State career will end Tuesday. His legacy is more than just statistics.
McSorley will make his 40th and final start at quarterback for the Nittany Lions having set 16 program records entering Tuesday's game against Kentucky. But what he means to the program goes far beyond the record books.
www.inquirer.com
Very little?
Did you not watch the game?
Did you not watch the critical final drive?
Did you not see the very last play?
I guess you are right. The smoke and mirrors fooled me 🙄
Yup, a kid who was going to go to Vanderbilt is too stupid to play quarterback huh…😂
Trace didn’t cost us playoff appearances.
Giving up 42 to Pitt, getting demolished in every phase of the game by Michigan, and making JT Barrett look like Tom Brady cost us playoff appearances.
What you talkin bout Wallace
Trace McSorley wasn't a great QB. He wasn't even "good" but he was a fighter and found ways to win games. He'll always deserve credit for that but some of our fan base still try to pretend he was a special. He wasn't.
Do you really think an NFL Team would keep a guy even on the practice squad if he couldn’t understand a playbooK? Do you know how many QB’s are out there without a job? You should back off on the shots of hateraid.
Trace won a lot of games for PSU but blew a few big ones near the end Pitt 2016, OSU 2018, but to slam the guy is ridiculous. He was one of the best we ever had. Some of the plays he made at the end of those games reminded me of Tony Sacca in 1991 at Miami. He easily had the first down if he scrambled and instead he threw an INT.
Funny thing, PSU should’ve been awarded a safety on that play.
Funny thing, PSU should’ve been awarded a safety on that play.
Trace blew the ‘18 OSU game?
Our secondary made OSU's backs and receivers look like the NFL all-pro team in the last 8 minutes of that game, and our brilliant coaches handed the ball to Miles Sanders into the teeth of Chase Young on the most important 4th and 5 in recent history.
Not sure Trace gets the blame, there.
He beat OSU with clutch throws in 2016 I believe. Every time OSU would take a lead (such as long run by Curtis Samuel) he would make a clutch throw. All props to him.
Trace is one of the most clutch players in the history of Penn State post scandal and was probably even more important than Saquon in winning Big Ten Title!!
Trace is also one of the nicest human beings to play at Penn State. I am a physician in charge of a major cancer program in the State , and we had a virtual fundraiser for patients (virtual due to Covid in 2020) (for patients who couldn’t work and needed short term help with grocery , electricity and gas cards and free counseling)— one of my friends whose daughter was a close PSU friend of Trace reached out, and he sent us a nice video shout out we used in our virtual gala that raised 360k for patients. He has great parents and he is an unselfish Penn Stater!! I still think we beat OSU in 2018 if Franklin would have let Trace do pass-run option on 4th down— Trace in that 27-26 white out loss where Franklin embarrassed himself with the elite outburst—Trace went 16/32,286 yds, 2TD, 0 INT, and ran 25/175 yds for 7.0 average against a very good OSU D, total 461 yds even without last play— and Miles Sanders went 16 times for 43 yds and 2,7 yds/carry and one of the stupidest calls in Franklin era, asked Trace to hand off to Sanders on last 4th down play.
Trace is also one of the nicest human beings to play at Penn State. I am a physician in charge of a major cancer program in the State , and we had a virtual fundraiser for patients (virtual due to Covid in 2020) (for patients who couldn’t work and needed short term help with grocery , electricity and gas cards and free counseling)— one of my friends whose daughter was a close PSU friend of Trace reached out, and he sent us a nice video shout out we used in our virtual gala that raised 360k for patients. He has great parents and he is an unselfish Penn Stater!! I still think we beat OSU in 2018 if Franklin would have let Trace do pass-run option on 4th down— Trace in that 27-26 white out loss where Franklin embarrassed himself with the elite outburst—Trace went 16/32,286 yds, 2TD, 0 INT, and ran 25/175 yds for 7.0 average against a very good OSU D, total 461 yds even without last play— and Miles Sanders went 16 times for 43 yds and 2,7 yds/carry and one of the stupidest calls in Franklin era, asked Trace to hand off to Sanders on last 4th down play.
Likely to have an NFL pension...which puts him in an incredible position to live the rest of his life however he chooses. Rare air and an enviable spot compared to 98 % or more of us. Nothing more, nothing less.
While I do not know, nor never met Trace or his family, my mother did grow up with his grandfather on Staten Island. By all accounts this is a solid family. The apple 🍎 didn't fall far from the tree. # Success With Honor? Maybe we didn't win a Natty...but what a fun ride coming out of gloomy times.
As for the play call...I just shivered recalling the shock of the hand off. Yeah...the replay shows what "could have" happened had Miles got past the line of scrimmage...but running near OSU #2 and allowing him to control the outcome clearly was a bad choice. Maybe it "could have" been a TD, and if my aunt had a pecker she'd be my uncle. OSU kid made the play and they won, just like Bosa sacking Christian in the OT game. At some point we need to give the other team some credit too....
Great post!
That 4th and 5 was one of the most truly boneheaded calls you'll ever see in a big game. Still incredible to this day.
Give OSU credit. They designed simple plays to get their dudes out in space, and then proceeded to juke the shit out of our LBs and secondary. The tackling in the final 6 minutes of that game was truly, truly abhorrent. Haskins wasn't delivering any crazy throws or anything. Just simple stuff. And we shat all over ourselves.
A shame. Because Trace's performance would have gone down as one of the great all-time PSU performances had we won.
Right at the end he threw beyond the line of scrimmage when he could’ve made the first down . Plenty of blame to go around there like Sanders fumbling deep in psu territory but when the game was on the line he didn’t deliver.
QBs get the credit for comebacks when they win those , blame when they lose . But of course the whole team and staff deserves criticism. They didn’t close the deal .
