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We come to an end of our countdown, and to the surprise of no one, Trace McSorley tops the list.
#9 QB Tommy Stevens (tie)
#9 DE Ryan Buchholz (tie)
#2 Ryan Bates
#1 Trace McSorley
How We Got Here
There are moments in history that shape the world as we know it. The invention of the wheel in 3500 B.C. The creation of the lightbulb on October 14, 1878. The launching of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel on July 17, 1988. All these dates were pivotal points for mankind, but none are more important than on August 23, 1995 when the football gods shined down upon the Earth and gave it what could only be described as the ultimate winner — Trace McSorley.
You know the story of Trace, and honestly at this point, it’s not something we need to talk about for the 287th time. But if you don’t understand his significance to Penn State football, take a look at Soju Warrior’s fanpost that highlighted the accolades that McSorley has reached. If someone wants to argue that Kerry Collins or Todd Blackledge is the best quarterback in Penn State history, I think that’s fair. But man, McSorley is special, and he’ll have another season to prove why.
What To Expect In 2018
I said it last year, and I’ll say it again this year: there isn’t another quarterback in the country that I’d want to go into battle with than Trace McSorley. This is a dude that just doesn’t expect to lose...ever. It doesn’t matter the situation or how the game is unfolding, McSorley expects to score. That type of confidence from a quarterback is infectious, whether it’s within the offense or throughout the entire team.
McSorley loses a lot of familiar faces around him — Joe Moorhead, Saquon Barkley, DaeSean Hamilton, and Mike Gesicki are all gone — but this Penn State offense is still going to be humming, and McSorley will be the main reason why. If he’s not the best quarterback in the country, he’s certainly the best quarterback in the Big Ten, and he’ll give Penn State a clear advantage no matter who he goes against. As history shows, the team with the better quarterback tends to fare pretty well.