Penn State: Trace McSorley poised to be next Nittany Lions’ superstar following Saquon Barkley’s exit
Saquon Barkley dazzled on the field during his time at Penn State. Quarterback Trace McSorley is ready to do the same with the spotlight now on him.
Replacing an outgoing star is often the toughest challenge of sports, whether it be professional or collegiate. Filling the void left by a generational talent in Saquon Barkley is something that the Penn State Nittany Lions will deal with at the running back spot in 2018.
However, they have a superstar at perhaps the most important spot on the roster, the quarterback position. While the Nittany Lions transition into a new phase at running back, Trace McSorley is back to keep the program in the conversation while at the helm under center.
Where Penn State has the advantage over the rest of the juggernauts in the conference is with McSorley. Michigan’s turning their hopes to Shea Patterson and Ohio State is in the process of replacing the tenure of J.T. Barrett. He can certainly be entered in the conversation of best quarterbacks across the nation.
Looking across the nation, McSorley will certainly be mentioned along with Jake Browning, Jake Fromm and Justin Herbert, among others when it comes to the best signal caller in 2018. With the number of talented quarterbacks that left for the NFL Draft from the previous class, there’s going to be a new crop of quarterbacks that take their turn becoming household names if the casual fans haven’t caught on already.
In McSorley’s two seasons as starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions, the program has won 22 games, a Big Ten Championship and a Fiesta Bowl victory over the Washington Huskies, led by the aforementioned Browning.
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Now as a senior, McSorley will certainly look to build off an already impressive 11 wins a year average and collect 12-13 or possibly more if things fall their way. If he makes the jumps that he did from his sophomore to junior year, the program will certainly have a shot at another conference title and perhaps bigger things.
The biggest improvement McSorley made this past season was with his completion percentage. After only a 57.9-percent completion rate in his sophomore year, he completed 66.5 percent of his passes in his junior campaign.
Now with the spotlight squarely on him to deliver with Barkley no longer lining up behind him, McSorley will have a chance to put up bigger numbers than he has yet. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to think he can’t pass for over 4,000 yards and add 30-plus touchdowns through the air.
Numbers like that against the defenses of the Big Ten would certainly put him in play for several awards toward the end of the season. It also likely has the Nittany Lions competing for a conference championship and perhaps a College Football Playoff spot.
The Nittany Lions get the advantage of having Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin all come to Beaver Stadium this season. They’ll have to make the trip to Ann Arbor for what could maybe be the toughest test of their road campaign when they play Michigan. History has shown that the conference runs through those four programs at the moment.
That being said, the table is set for McSorley to make a run for stardom and finally take over the spotlight that was once firmly planted on his running back. He even has a chance to do something that Barkley wasn’t able to if he can bring home the wins and numbers through the air. That, of course, is the Heisman Trophy.
in 2017, Barkley finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting results. While a lot of that can be attributed to how highly valued the quarterback spot is over running back and some late-season defeats for Penn State, many felt the running back should have been a more serious contender given the hype and results surrounding him.
That’s why it’s not crazy to think that McSorley has an even better shot than Barkley to win the award. Given his current standing among quarterbacks in the Big Ten, the fact he plays the all-important position and that he wins games, he has all the tools necessary to be a Heisman Trophy winner and most importantly, college football’s next superstar.