Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1052705
T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N READY TO RUN Even after being hurt against Iowa, McSorley contin- ued to make plays for the Nittany Lions. His 51-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was a pivotal mo- ment in the game. Photo by Steve Manuel pernatural. He had attempted 1,085 passes and rushed 413 times, but the only time he had ever been knocked out of a game was at Indiana in November 2016. And in that instance, he was back on the field after only a few plays. This looked like it might be a lot more seri- ous. After a few minutes, McSorley stepped out of the tent wearing a brace under- neath the padding on his right leg. That was certainly better than an ice pack, because it meant that the trainers felt he was healthy enough for the staff to at least consider putting him back in the game. But it was far from optimum for a Penn State team that had gotten off to a sloppy start and was trailing the Hawkeyes, 14-7. As a stadium full of worried fans looked on, a man in a gray parka made his way to the edge of the railing behind the bench. It was McSorley's father, Rick. As Trace approached, the elder McSorley bent over the railing and wrapped his son's head in his hands. "He just told me that he loved me," Trace said after the game, "and to keep pushing. He knew I had it in me." Rick McSorley was right, of course. His son had everything he needed, not just to return to the game, but to engineer a 30-24 victory over the Hawkeyes. One of the pivotal moments for Penn State was a 51-yard touchdown run by McSorley on which the veteran quarterback looked awfully healthy. Afterward, coach James Franklin said, "Trace Mc- Sorley is the best player in col- lege football. I don't care what anyone says, because he's as tough as it gets." Franklin isn't an impartial observer, of course, and the reality is that McSorley won't get the award that usually goes to that player. When the Heisman Trophy is announced next month in New York, the recipient will most likely be Okla- homa's Kyler Murray or Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa or maybe West Virginia's Matt Grier. McSorley's bona fides had been looking pretty good when he was strafing Ohio State for a school-record 461 yards of total offense, but the Lions lost that game, and they lost the next one, too, to Michigan State. As