James Franklin describes the feeling of having Trace McSorley on coaching staff

Trace McSorley joined Penn State‘s staff this offseason as the program’s assistant quarterbacks coach. It’s his first job in the coaching industry, and it’s at his alma mater where McSorley made a name for himself with the Nittany Lions as a three-year starter for head coach James Franklin from 2016-2018.

McSorley is getting his first taste of coaching during the Nittany Lions’ early offseason practices this spring. As the former Penn State star gets his feet wet behind the clipboard, Franklin, who McSorley committed to out of high school, couldn’t say enough about the newest member of his staff.

“Trace is a special guy to me. He’s a special guy to Penn State. Our history and our tradition,” Franklin explained. “He chased his dream as long as he thought it made sense in the NFL and was able to play at a level that very few people get to play at for a number of years. We’ve been talking the last couple of years that he was probably going to get into coaching whether that was at the NFL level or with us.

“We had an opportunity to open up and [we] presented it to him and had some good discussions on what it would look like. He’s been great. … I think that helps with the learning curve because they already know the culture. [McSorley] already knows the expectations.”

McSorley finished his four-year college career with Penn State having thrown for 9,899 yards and 77 touchdowns compared to 25 interceptions. He was also a prolific scrambler out of the pocket, picking up an additional 1,697 yards on the ground to go with 30 rushing touchdowns.

He went on the be drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, where he played for two seasons and appeared in three games. He later signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022 where he played in six games, completing 45 of 83 passes for 412 yards. McSorley threw one touchdown during his NFL career.

Franklin believes his experience in the program can do nothing but help the quarterback room in State College. After all, he was in their shoes not all that long ago.

“Having somebody that played quarterback at Penn State because until you’ve actually sat in that chair, it’s different,” Franklin said. “You guys heard me say it before, the head coach and the quarterback, it’s different. So having Trace to be able to mentor that room from his experiences I think is valuable.”