Penn State's starting QB: Trace McSorley

The decision has been made, and it's sophomore Trace McSorley who gets the nod.

Speaking to reporters after practice Wednesday night, head coach James Franklin announced Penn State's starting quarterback for the season opener against Kent State Sept. 3.

Citing McSorley's experience as a backup the past two seasons and his grasp of the newly installed offense, Franklin said the coaching staff feels comfortable moving forward with McSorely as the No. 1 option.

"Trace will be our starting quarterback," Franklin said. "I thought Tommy (Stevens) has had a really good camp. We have two quarterbacks we have a lot of confidence in."

A native of Ashburn, Va., McSorley appeared in seven games as a redshirt freshman and spent the year as No. 2 behind Christian Hackenberg. McSorley's debut came at home against Rutgers in week three, but it wasn't until a couple weeks later against Indiana when he made his first collegiate pass, a 4-yard competition to Gregg Garrity. McSorley saw spot duty in three more games following – against Maryland, Illinois and Michigan – before seeing his most significant action in the final two games of Penn State's season.

Against Michigan State and Georgia, McSorley completed a combined 19 passes on 35 attempts without any interceptions. Playing in more than half of the bowl game against UGa, after Hackenberg injured his shoulder in the second quarter, McSorley threw two touchdown passes and flirted with a fourth-quarter comeback. It was enough to give him momentum entering winter workouts as the early favorite to replace the NFL draftee.

Franklin and his assistants, however, were in no rush to name a starter in January and let the competition rage throughout winter and then into spring practice.

During the Blue-White Game McSorley threw four touchdowns on 27 passing attempts. He completed 23 for 281 yards and continued to hold serve in the QB race. Complicating matters, however, was the determination of counterpart Tommy Stevens. The redshirt freshman played limited reps with the first team and spent most of the BW game with the backups. When he got the opportunity to play behind the starters, he excelled, completing 3 of 3 passes for 52 yards and leading a fourth-quarter TD drive.

That, along with the progress both QBs showed throughout the spring, was enough for Franklin to allow the competition to continue into summer and then the first couple weeks of practice. Both McSorley and Stevens had been splitting first-team reps until this week.

Franklin said "it wasn't one thing" that separated the two and that the decision was more difficult and closer than many might have believed.

With this decision, Franklin said he and offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead have determined it to be final and there will be no splitting of reps.