Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
107 Mountain Springs Lane • (814) 364-1000 • www.sevenmountainswinecellars.com Only 20 minutes from State College • 1 Mile off 322 near Potters Mills/ Decker Valley Road Find Seven Mountains Wine at Main Street Market, Reedsville and Castlerigg Wine Shop, Downtown Carlisle. Check the website for our hours and special events! Relaxing at "Mountains on Main" On the porch at the Seven Mountains Lodge, BOALSBURG Farmers Market Every Tuesday! Now At G B s M RG L A BOA et ke ark rs M Ma SBUR mer rm ar Fa y! ay sda es ue y T Tu ry er Eve t w A No G makes for a generally happy fan base, which makes my job easier and more en- joyable. The sample size is admittedly limited, but Clark, McSorley and McGloin im- mediately jump out as the best or most fun stories of the bunch. Morelli had plenty of challenges that were not of his own doing, Bolden was forced to take the reins before he was ready, and Hackenberg was thrust into a volatile and thankless job for his three seasons as a starter with the Nit- tany Lions. Still, Clark's ascent beginning with his breakout performance in the Alamo Bowl, followed by a Rose Bowl appear- ance in the 2008 season, back-to-back All-Big Ten campaigns and a Silver Football MVP season in 2009, was a re- markable story. McSorley has seen just one season of starting action with two years of eligi- bility remaining, but his story has simi- larly taken on a remarkable trajectory. Last season, in the wake of Hackenberg's early departure for the NFL, McSorley engineered a stunning Big Ten champi- onship season that included an upset of No. 2 Ohio State, a title game MVP per- formance, a Rose Bowl berth and multi- ple individual records. He'll enter his upcoming redshirt junior year at Penn State as a preseason Heisman contender along with teammate Saquon Barkley. He'll be at the helm of what is likely to be a preseason top-10 team. McGloin, now preparing for his 13h NFL season – this one with a new team, the Philadelphia Eagles – may not have produced the same level of team success as either McSorley or Clark, but he re- mains one of the most improbable suc- cess stories in the program's history. None of which is to say that Penn State should change its recruiting strategy to avoid four- and 1ve-star elite quarter- backs in favor of scrappy underdogs. James Franklin and his sta2 will contin- ually seek out top-level players, both in terms of their skill and their character. But as the program turns to its next moves on the quarterback recruiting front, its most recent history strongly suggests that winning, feel-good stories can still be found from the position – highly rated or not. ■