Trace McSorley

Richard Thomas "Trace" McSorley III (born August 23, 1995) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent.

McSorley attended Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Virginia from 2010 to 2014.

He played high school football and started as freshman.

In his freshman year, he led the team to a 13–2 record and a state championship.

Two seasons later in his junior year, he led the team to a 15–0 record and its third consecutive state title.

He was named First-team All-State by the Virginia Coaches Association and Virginia Preps.

As a junior, he was awarded All-Dulles District First Team; Dulles District Offensive Player of the Year; and Second-team All-Region quarterback.

During McSorley's redshirt freshman year, he appeared in a total of six games, five of them when the game was in hand and McSorley was only in for a few plays.

The win gave PSU a #24 ranking in the AP Poll, PSU's first ranking in the top 25 since the 2011 season.

The next week at Purdue, McSorley completed 12 of 23 passing for 228 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

The Nittany Lions won in a 62–24 rout and cemented their place in the AP Top-25 with a #20 ranking.

McSorley led the Nittany Lions back from a 28–7 deficit and broke the Big Ten Championship Game record for passing yards, set by Michigan State’s Connor Cook back in 2013, and touchdowns.

His 364 total yards was also a championship game record.

In the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs, after starter Christian Hackenberg went out with an injury, McSorley was brought in with Penn State down 24–3.

He nearly led a comeback, finishing the game 14 for 27 with 142 yards and two touchdowns, but Penn State fell short 24–17.

With the early departure of quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who was drafted in the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, McSorley and redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens competed for the job.

On McSorley's birthday, August 23, 2016, head coach James Franklin announced that McSorley would be the starter.

In his first start on September 3, against the Kent State Golden Flashes, he went 16 of 31 for 209 yards and two touchdowns in a 33–13 win.

In McSorley's second game, he threw for 332 yards and a score in the loss at Pitt.

Later in the season when the Nittany Lions played Minnesota, McSorley put up career high yardage numbers when he threw for 335 yards in a 29–26 OT win.

On October 22, 2016, Penn State and McSorley played Big Ten rival Ohio State.

McSorley struggled with accurately throwing the ball, completing 8 of 23 passes for 153 yards.

However, he scored two touchdowns, one passing and one rushing, en route to a stunning upset of #2 Ohio State by unranked Penn State.

On November 1, 2016, Penn State was named #12 in the first official College Football Playoff rankings of the season.

On November 26, against rival Michigan State, McSorley threw for a career-high 376 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

He went 17 of 23 with a completion percentage of 73%, and led Penn State to the 45–12 win, earning a berth to the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin.

On November 30, 2016, McSorley was named Second Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media.

With a third quarter completion to DaeSean Hamilton, McSorley broke the Penn State single-season record for passing yards.

The sophomore started the night fourth on the single-season list, but passed Christian Hackenberg, Daryll Clark and Matt McGloin’s to retain the top spot.

McSorley finished the game with 384 yards, 22 of 31 passing, and four touchdowns in an MVP, Big Ten Championship winning performance.

"Trace has been dynamic all year long," head coach James Franklin said after the game.

"I'm really proud of him, you know, his attitude, his demeanor, the type of teammate he is, the type of leader he is. Obviously he made plays tonight."

On December 5, 2016, it was revealed that McSorley was on multiple Heisman ballots, some even as high as two, just behind Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson.

McSorley became the first Nittany Lion to be on a Heisman ballot in over ten years.

After the Big Ten Championship game, McSorley ranked third in FBS in passing yard on throws over 20 yards with 1,491.

After his Heisman campaign in 2016 McSorley and the Nittany Lions entered the 2017 season ranked sixth by the AP Poll.

In the 2017 Rose Bowl, McSorley went 18 for 29 with 254 yards and four touchdowns and three interceptions.

He also rushed for 13 yards in a 49–52 loss to the USC Trojans.

He played college football at Penn State, and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

McSorley holds numerous Penn State school records, including most passing yards in a single season, most passing touchdowns in a single season, most career total yards of offense, and total touchdowns in a single season.