He will be running a new offensive system put in place by Moorhead, and it will be unlike anything fans have ever seen from Penn State. The young quarterback fought off a small smile as he met the gaggle of more than 40 media members immediately after Franklin made the announcement.
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“I think the biggest thing, and Tommy asked the same question, is that (Trace) has been the backup for two years”, said Franklin.
“It legitimately was a hard decision”, Franklin said, noting Stevens’ improvement through training camp this month.
Franklin also discussed some other positions where players have solidified their spots ahead of the first depth chart coming out before the September 3 opener against Kent State.
His shiftiness was utilized in practice throughout his tenure as Christian Hackenberg’s backup.
While he doesn’t possess the arm strength of Hackenberg, McSorley can make plays with his feet and has weapons to work with.
Moorhead said of the two quarterbacks, “Tommy’s a little bit taller”. In that bowl game against Georgia, McSorley completed 14 of 27 attempts for 142 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 31 yards.
“I know a lot of people thought the decision was made in spring ball, ” Franklin said.
In the end – but only in the end, he insisted – James Franklin went with experience, a veteran, and the chalk pick for his starting quarterback. “It had been a long process since the end of January, really the beginning of January once this all started. It was definitely a relief”.
Jake Zembiec, the true freshman from Rochester, N.Y., would be the third-team quarterback, though he is expected to redshirt, if possible.
“(He) gained an advantage there”, Franklin said. “McGovern came in a powerful, strong guy”.
A green designation doesn’t guarantee that he will play – last August Franklin had planned to use receiver Juwan Johnson, but that fell to pieces along with the Nittany Lions’ entire offensive scheme in an opening loss to Temple. “You have Nelson at right tackle, Dowrey at right guard, you’ve got Gaia at center, Bates at left guard and Mahon at left tackle is where it sits right now”.
But for now McGovern figures to work his way into some playing time up front.
Altoona product Kevin Givens was working with the first-team defensive line during Wednesday’s practice.
Monk’s background and work ethic reminds Franklin of another former walk-on – 2015 national sack leader Carl Nassib. “Ryan Monk’s come in here and worked his tail off”, Franklin said. And he’s a guy that we’re having discussions about who could factor in at the nose position for us. “Since the day I committed here, I’ve always kind of dreamed about it and thought about it”. So that’s a credit to him.
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Redshirt sophomore Trace McSorley has earned the job as Penn State’s starting quarterback, coach James Franklin announced Wednesday night. And I mean, all the great starting quarterbacks that have come out of Penn State, it’s an honor to just kind of be in that group.
