The big revelation last year was Trace McSorley, thei Nittany Lions' first-year starting QB. McSorley had a 29-8 TD-INT ratio and produced almost 4,000 yards of total offense. He isn’t the biggest quarterback at about 6-0, 200 pounds but he’s an ideal fit for Moorhead’s system.



"He’s a playmaker,” says Franklin. "In today’s world of college football, things always aren’t going to go perfect and you need a guy that when things break down, can do something for you and he’s one of those guys. I was in Green Bay the year we drafted Aaron (Rodgers). Looking at his career, the thing he does better than anybody is create and Trace has got a lot of that in him.



"He does everything right. In meetings, he’s a student of the game, watching film, taking notes, asking questions. He throws extra with the guys. He’s great in school. Even with the little things. Like mom and dad before every game at the hotel, she brings some type of regionally specific snack for the O-linemen. It seems like a small thing but it shows up. Cupcakes because at that town, that place is famous for them, or it’s cookies from a different town. It’s thoughtful. All of those little things matter. He gets that. If you study, best practice. Why is Marriott (hotels) so successful? It’s because they do the little things better than the other companies.”



The bond between coach and quarterback is pretty strong. Many schools offered McSorley but as a safety. "For me it was how much he believed in me as a Q,” McSorley said. "He was very adamant in me as a quarterback that I could be a leader and a QB.”



They also both seem to have pretty sizable chips on their shoulder.



"We do kinda connect on that and I think that was something he liked about me,” McSorley said. "He said when I got here make sure that I keep that chip on my shoulder, and he’s got one too. All the people who said he can’t do it and middle of the season with people saying whether he keeps his job. The chip on his shoulder just grew a little bit.”



The biggest area Moorhead wants McSorley to work on this offseason is quieting his feet in the pocket and keep improving on his run reads. And they keep stressing to be aggressive without being reckless.

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