Blue White Illustrated

| P enn State fans have yet to see quarter- back Trace McSorley take a snap since he arrived on campus more than a year ago. They've barely even heard him speak. A native of Ashburn, Va., McSorley didn't see action during his first season on campus. Christian Hackenberg started every game at quarterback for the Nittany Lions, and walk-on D.J. Crook served as the backup so that McSorley could preserve his freshman eligibility. Coming off his redshirt season, McSorley played a more prominent role during his first session of spring practice. But when it came time to make his Beaver Stadium debut in April's Blue-White Game to show fans what he'd been working on, McSorley walked onto the field without a helmet or pads. Instead, he was in street clothes for undisclosed reasons. Despite his absence from the offensive huddle during the scrimmage, McSorley views his performance during spring prac- tice as a success. As he said when he first spoke with re- porters during Penn State's media day in early August, he's eager to finally put his dual-threat skills on display, even if it is only in spot duty behind Hackenberg. "Spring went well," McSorley said. "I was happy with what I did in the spring. It was unfortunate that I wasn't able to show everyone what I could do in the Blue-White Game." When fans finally do get to see him play, what can they expect? "I'd describe myself as a quarterback who can get out of trouble when it hap- pens," he said. "It's going to happen at some point, but I don't want everyone thinking that I'm just running with my head cut off. I'm a quarterback here. I'm playing within our system. Coach [Ricky] Rahne, Coach [John] Donovan and Coach [James] Franklin do a great job of preparing me, Christian and all of our quarterbacks to be ready, know our offense and know our opponent." To improve his durability, McSorley has focused on adding weight. Dual-threat quarterbacks often are subjected to more hits than drop-back passers, so Penn State's strength staff has been looking to help McSorley bulk up in order to better handle the tackles he'll face. When he enrolled at Penn State last summer, McSorley weighed about 190 pounds. He's since added about 10 pounds and says he is just as fast as he was when he led Briar Woods (Va.) High to four con- secutive state championship games and amassed more than 12,000 yards of total offense and 150 touchdowns. "I definitely tried to make sure my weight was where I wanted it to be," he said. "I wanted to be around 202, and I'm about 200. I feel good about where I'm at. Also, I wanted to make sure I maintained my speed." In addition to his physical preparation, McSorley delved into the playbook and studied game film, both of Penn State and its opponents. He and Hackenberg met once a week to compare notes and break down film of various defenses, including the Lions'. The goal, McSorley said, was "to get more in depth with the offense [in order to] know it like the back of my hand." That is a luxury that Penn State mostly went without a year ago. Even though he absorbed a Big Ten-worst 44 sacks playing behind a youthful offensive line, Hacken- berg took all but a handful of snaps in 2014, with Crook seeing action in only one game, a 48-7 nonconference romp over Massa- chusetts. This year, McSorley should be prepared to come on in relief, especially if Penn State is able to build some early leads during its nonconference season. "In general I think that's good, having someone, if something were to happen, you're comfortable throwing in without much of a drop-off," McSorley said. "I think that's a big thing for the coaches, just knowing if the worst situation hap- pens, you'll be all right." ■ 2 0 1 5 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L McSorley ready to step into backup role DEBUT SEASON Expected to be Penn State's back- up QB this fall, McSor- ley has added about 10 pounds in the off-sea- son and has worked with Hackenberg to familiarize himself with the play- book. Photo by Tim Owen

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