Blue White Illustrated

T race McSorley and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson share a rare distinction. James Franklin wants you to be aware of that, too. "He and the quarterback who just won the Super Bowl are the only two quarter- backs to ever take their team to four straight [Virginia state] championship games," Franklin said during Penn State's Class of 2014 signing day news conference. "He's a winner in every sense of the word." The championship run began his fresh- man season at Briar Woods High when McSorley won the starting QB position in a run-first offense. When the first- team running back went down with a broken leg in week one, it was up to Mc- Sorley to shoulder the load, running the ball as well as throwing. And he never put the load down. In that first year, he led Briar Woods to 11 consecutive victories and a 41-21 rout of Harrisonburg for the school's first state title. He returned his sophomore season to help his Falcons squeak past Christians- burg, 28-26, for the second crown. McSorley, a native of Ashburn, Va., re- turned to the title game each of the next two years, playing safety in addition to quarterback. Briar Woods was defeated, 35-28, by Bird during the state title game that capped McSorley's senior season. This past year, the Falcons were playing at the AAA Division 5 level for the first time, having moved up from D-4. McSorley has fond memories of his sen- ior season, but he and his teammates "knew it was going to be a tougher task because we were moving up a division." Naturally, then, his fondest memories come from the 2012 championship game against Heritage-Lynchburg. "The third one sticks out," he said. "Just because it was a three-peat and that was probably the best game, as a team, that we had ever played. We ended up winning the game 52-0 and just blew them out from the start. That's what stuck out – how we played the game, the atmosphere and being three-peat state champions." He finished his high school career with astonishing numbers, including 10,065 passing yards and 111 touchdowns. He also rushed for 2,005 yards and 38 TDs. It was after the third championship that McSorley saw his recruitment take off. The following February, he met Franklin and the coaching staff – another memory that stands out. Franklin and quarterbacks coach Ricky Rahne were still at Vanderbilt when McSorley visited for a junior day event. "They all were kind of exciting guys, and you could tell they had a passion for what they were doing," McSorley recalled. From there, McSorley and the staff began to develop a strong relationship. He and Franklin would talk on Skype every once in a while, and McSorley said that's when "you could see his charisma as he was talking. If any of the coaches walked by, he'd bring them in and he'd say, 'Hey this is that recruit I'm talking about.' That was the first time that I really thought I liked this coach and this staff." Even more appealing to McSorley was the fact that Franklin and Rahne were re- cruiting him to play quarterback. At 6- foot, 182 pounds, McSorley was a three- star athlete as rated by Rivals.com. Some schools were recruiting him as a defensive back, or as a versatile offensive threat, but Franklin thought he had a future under center. So when he camped at Vanderbilt and was able to throw alongside Franklin and Rahne, he knew he wanted those two to be his coaches throughout college. A day after leaving camp, he called and verbally committed to the Commodores. Then when the staff took new jobs at Penn State about six months later, McSorley only had to visit campus once to know what he wanted to do. After that trip, he was happy to follow them to Pennsylvania. "It's a place that I can picture myself at for four or five years," he said afterward. McSorley said that Franklin envisions him as a dual-threat quarterback for the Nittany Lions. "He likes having a guy who can drop back and make throws, but first off, he wants a guy who, in case everything is covered up, can make a play with his legs," McSorley explained. "When he re- cruited me to Vanderbilt, that's what he liked and recruited me as. That's the same thing at Penn State." Shortly after Franklin arrived in State College, Michael O'Connor, a four-star pro-style QB, enrolled at Penn State. Mc- Sorley said he wants to help the Nittany Lions "reach national championship lev- els" and understands that O'Connor prob- ably has similar aspirations. Good thing McSorley relishes competition. "I'd have to compete wherever I go," he said. "It wasn't a big thing for me. Michael is obviously one of the highest-rated guys and a great quarterback. I'm looking for- ward to competing with him the next four or five years." ■ FULL OF WIN Trace McSorley has big dreams after claiming three state titles in high school | U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L THE McSORLEY FILE S T A T I S T I C S Threw for 10,065 yards and 111 TDs in four years as a starting QB... Rushed for 2,005 career yards and 38 TDs. H O N O R S Was named All-State as both a QB and safety... Rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.

• Cover