Drew Allar explains impact of Trace McSorley’s addition to Penn State staff

Two of James Franklin’s four quarterbacks during his tenure as Penn State football coach are now back under one roof in the Lasch Building. The Nittany Lions made headlines this offseason by bringing home favorite son Trace McSorley to help coach the current batch of Penn State quarterbacks.

Now the assistant quarterbacks coach under Danny O’Brien, McSorley will expand his previous mentoring role in an official capacity.

“Yeah, [it’s] really cool. I got to know Trace a little bit more last year,” senior quarterback Drew Allar said of McSorley following Saturday’s Blue-White Game. “I got to know him a little bit when I was a recruit, just when he was here, training for the NFL, and also, like my first couple years here, when he wasn’t a coach, obviously training back-and-forth with the NFL. So I got to know him a little bit and pick his brain. But, you know, I’m really happy that he’s a part of our offensive staff now.”

McSorley is the only Nittany Lion quarterback to win a Big Ten title under James Franklin. This fall, he will help Allar and Penn State football attempt to make a return to the Big Ten Championship Game.

Although he’s only been around for a little over two months, the new Penn State assistant is already having an impact.

“He’s another resource for me,” Allar said. “I’m going to continue to ask him questions, and he’s been a great help for me already coaching. And him and Danny have done a great job of managing us as quarterbacks and really giving us areas to improve on. But also, like, just helping us with any questions that we have, and putting together cut-ups for us, and really just talking through a lot of different things.”

You can watch everything Drew Allar had to say after Penn State football wrapped up spring practice below.

“You guys know how I feel about Trace and his whole family,” Franklin said during spring ball. “Trace is a special guy to me. He’s a special guy to Penn State, our history, and our tradition…You look at Danny O’Brien, who played for me and coached for me. Trace McSorley, who played for me and coached for me. I think that helps with the learning curve because they already know the culture, they already know the expectations.

“I also think it helps our quarterback room having somebody that played quarterback at Penn State. Because until you’ve actually sat in that chair, it’s different. 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.”

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