Blue White Illustrated

T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 POCKET CHANGE Trace McSorley learns to feel the rush, and PSU's offense reaps the benefits By quarterback Trace McSorley's defi- nition, the ability to make defenders miss within a pass-blocking scheme has to do with two important senses: sight and feel. "Pocket presence is just being able to have the feel around you in the pocket while still being able to look and see the coverage downfield and see the re- ceivers," McSorley said Tuesday morning on a conference call with reporters. "You see the coverage but you feel the rush around you. You're not looking at the rush. That's [how] I'd say is the best way to describe it. You feel the rush and you see the coverage. You feel where you need to move and slide to get away from the pass rush but still keep your eyes down the field and make the throw." Now five games into his first season as starter, the Penn State sophomore's awareness behind his pass protection has gradually improved. In the 29-26 win over Minnesota Saturday, his pocket presence might have been at its best. That's not by accident. Every day in practice, the QBs work on refining their pocket awareness. Said McSorley, "It's something that Coach [Joe] Moorhead really stresses on us: stepping up in the pocket and not being a statue back there and climbing through and up our pro- gressions." While it's emphasized consistently on the practice field, it's an ability that is best polished under live game scenarios. "The more experience you have in games, the more you can kind of get a sense for how the rush is," McSorley said. "That definitely helps you out – the ex- perience of going through five games now and having that under my belt and knowing what that rush feels like and knowing what that speed is like. That's something that I think has helped." In similar situations earlier in the year, McSorley took a sack or, worse, fumbled the ball aBer being hit from behind by a defensive end. But on a first-and-10 play late in the first quarter against Min- nesota, McSorley showed his improve- ment. He felt the edge pressure on both sides of the pocket, and as he waited for his receivers to get downfield, he stepped up toward the line of scrimmage. By moving forward in the pocket, he negated the pressure from the defensive ends, but not from the defensive tackles. To do that, he needed to dip his shoulder and evade the sack attempt. McSorley then took one more step forward and re- leased the pass to a wide-open DeAndre Thompkins for 53 yards. The big gain set up Penn State's first score of the game six plays later. He did it again in the third quarter on second-and-10. McSorley felt the de- fensive ends rushing upfield, and with right guard Connor McGovern thwart- ing the defensive tackle this time, he stepped forward and to his right, never taking his eyes off his intended receiver. Once he got to the line of scrimmage, he set up and fired downfield to tight end Mike Gesicki for another 53-yard gain. This play also resulted in points, as Mc- Sorley ran in for a 6-yard touchdown two plays later, giving the Nittany Lions a 20-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Coach James Franklin has been im- pressed with McSorley's development, noting that he's playing with the compo- sure of a more experienced QB. "I think it's been helpful that he has been the backup quarterback for two years and didn't approach it like that. He really prepared as if he was the starter," Franklin said. "He's a mature kid, he's a disciplined kid. He's a smart young man, comes from a real good family, strong parents. And he's prepared for this. He also is a guy who has been successful his entire athletic and academic career. He expects this. "So yeah, obviously you look at the quarterback we played last week [in the game against Minnesota]. He was an older, veteran guy, and he played like that. He looked like that. I think Trace is playing like a guy who probably is a sec- ond-year starter. Not necessarily in just all his numbers and stats, but just his de- meanor. It's really good." McSorley races downfield vs. Min- nesota. Making only his fifth ca- reer start, the red- shirt sophomore quarterback fin- ished the game with 335 yards passing and 73 yards rushing, helping lift the Lions to a 29-26 overtime victory. Photo by Steve Manuel

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