'He's Going to Be an Elite Coach:' Trace McSorley Returns to Penn State

One wall of the quarterbacks meeting room in Penn State's football building is dedicated to a former star. Trace McSorley literally hangs over the current roster of Nittany Lions quarterbacks. Now, he also works them as the team's new assistant quarterbacks coach. It's an opportunity that inspires Penn State quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien.

"I'm the luckiest quarterbacks coach in the country," O'Brien said, sitting in the room beneath the huge photo of McSorley. "When the new guy's on the wall, you've got a good job."

Penn State coach James Franklin hired McSorley recently as assistant quarterbacks coach, officially bringing aboard the three-year starting legend who led the Nittany Lions to 31 wins and a Big Ten title. "He's a special guy to Penn State, our history, our tradition," Franklin said after hiring McSorley.

O'Brien played for Franklin as well at Maryland and also has a long-term bond with his former coach.
So O'Brien, entering his second season as Penn State's quarterbacks coach, could be forgiven for feeling squeezed at the new hire. Far from it, O'Brien said.

"I'll tell you what," O'Brien began. "Obviously everyone knows how good a player he was here. He's an even better dude, and we have a blast in here. Our dynamic is not hierarchical. Our job is to help those guys get better, so anything that Trace can add, which is a lot, we're going to use. I like to think I bring some stuff too, and we work together in lockstep just to get our guys better."

O'Brien is in his fifth season on Franklin's Penn State staff, having served as an offensive analyst and graduate assistant. He has developed a strong working relationship with starter Drew Allar, who credits O'Brien for helping him maintain a calm presence.

O'Brien played six seasons in the Canadian Football League and was part of the Ottawa Redblacks' Grey Cup championship team in 2016. That year he also watched clips on his laptop of McSorley and the Nittany Lions' run to the Big Ten championship.

McSorley had been an occasional presence at Penn State the past few years during NFL tryouts and camp appearances. He and O'Brien got to know each other, and O'Brien was all aboard when Franklin hired McSorley.

"Last year, he was kind of in and out waiting to see if he was going to get called [by an NFL team]," O'Brien said. "So that was really cool, too, because we got to kind of start that relationship. He could sit in any meeting he wanted to, obviously, and that bridged everything. I knew who he was on a personal level before he got here."

Among the key viewpoints McSorley brings to the room is that of a Penn State quarterback. Franklin called it important, as did O'Brien.

"It's been awesome," O'Brien said. "He has a perspective that I don't have, having played here. We both played [quarterback], but he played here at a high level, and that's invaluable for our guys.

"... Trace is the best. He works his butt off. He's going to be an elite coach."

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