Penn State Football: 5 Takeaways from 2018 season

1. No one is more competitive than Trace McSorley

Trace McSorley will go down as one of the best quarterbacks in Penn State history. After sitting behind Christian Hackenberg most of his freshman season, he played in the TaxSlayer Bowl against Georgia and passed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Then, he became the starting quarterback as a sophomore and led the team past Ohio State, Iowa, and others during a nine-game winning streak that ended with a Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl appearance.

As a junior, he and Saquon Barkley took the team to the Fiesta Bowl, where they defeated Washington and finished the season 11-2.

In 2018, he fought injuries all season and still finished with 2,500 passing yards and almost 800 rushing yards. Even though he lost his final game as a Nittany Lion, one of his most incredible career moments was in the second half of the Citrus Bowl.

McSorley played through an injury that was likely a broken right foot. He almost rallied the team to a comeback after being down 27-7 late in the third quarter despite many believing he would not come back into the game, including his teammates.

He could make it to the NFL and may even be drafted in a late round this year. His size and passing accuracy hurt his draft stock, but he is a competitor that has won at both the high school and college level. That competitiveness alone will give him a shot at playing on Sundays.