Blue White Illustrated

October 2022

Penn State Sports Magazine

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3 8 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State has a long history of developing unheralded recruits into elite college players H e's known these days as one of the greatest linebackers in Penn State and NFL history, but as a high school player coming out of Johnstown, Pa., in the mid-1960s, Jack Ham was considered a marginal college prospect. As the oft-told story goes, Joe Pa- terno called Ham's former Bishop McCort teammate Steve Smear, then a defensive tackle for the Nittany Lions, into his office at the end of spring prac- tice. Ham had just spent an uneventful year at a Virginia prep school and thought he was finished with football, but the Li- ons had found themselves with an extra scholarship after a recruit changed his mind and went to Iowa. Paterno wanted to know, would Ham work hard if the coach- ing staff made him the final member of their 1966 recruiting class? Did he belong at a place like Penn State? Smear told his coach that Ham did belong. Penn State extended its of- M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Rising To The Occasion Though some doubted whether he would even play quarterback at Penn State, Trace McSorley finished his career in 2018 as the school's all-time leader in passing yards (9,899) and total offense (11,596). PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL

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