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By Matt Michelone
For the Mirror
STATE COLLEGE -- Having the chance to come back to Happy Valley is something that former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley loves to do.
His schedule, however, can make finding time challenging.
"It hasn't really worked out," he said of chances to come back and visit. "It's awesome to get back here. We love being back here, me and my wife, we met here. It's cool for us to get back here and enjoy some of the places we used to love going through."
Sunday afternoon he returned as the featured speaker for the National Football Foundation's Central PA Chapter's annual banquet at the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel.
In addition to appearing at the banquet, he noted he took a chance to attend a concert and play some golf.
The starting quarterback of the 2016 Big Ten championship team remembers the Minnesota game as the turning point to that season, which ended on a Saquon Barkley touchdown run in overtime that helped spark a nine-game winning streak to end the regular season.
"I remember after that game, the jubilation, the excitement, everyone in that locker room felt like we got something special," he said. "We just got to put it together (the rest of the way)."
Since he last put on the blue and white, he's enjoyed seeing the changes that James Franklin has put into effect with the program.
"When he first got here, he had to instill his culture, so it was a little bit his way or the highway-type deal," McSorley said. "Now, I think he's much more open with communicating with the players on the team and being open to some change here and there. He's done a really good job of bringing Penn State into a modern era, but keeping the roots and everything the same."
McSorley is excited for the expansion for the Big Ten as USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon join the group.
"It will be cool to see the West Coast teams coming out here," he said. "It's a different style of football. Big Ten has always been more ground and pound, a little grittier, a little nastier.
"The Pac-12 has always been pretty, offensive football. I'm looking forward to how those compete against each other. Maybe get a new rivalry pop up here and there."
He shared a similar opinion on the 12-team College Football Playoff.
"Every year there's two, three teams that you could really make an argument should be in that top four,'' he said. "With it being four, the committee pigeonholed themselves into some really tough decisions. The 12-team playoff will be good for college football."
Penn State would've been a beneficiary of a larger playoff during McSorley's tenure as they would've made it on three separate occasions from 2016-2018.
"I've joked with my parents that I was born just a few years too early for all this new college football world," he said.
McSorley believes that Drew Allar is better prepared to lead the Nittany Lions as he begins his junior season this fall.
"He was able to get that first year under his belt where you got to experience those ups and downs and kind of lick those wounds a little bit," he said. "Now he has got a new system, a new (offensive coordinator). He's got all of the talent in the world, and he knows he's got that. He's got a really good mindset."
Recently, McSorley has been traveling around the NFL. Since he was drafted in 2020 by the Baltimore Ravens, he has been with four teams including the Arizona Cardinals (2021-22). Last year, he spent portions of the season with the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers.
McSorley acknowledged how tough it can be but remains open to opportunities elsewhere, including in the recently merged UFL.
"If the right opportunity showed up, I think it would be something that we would consider," he said. "It's given some guys some opportunities from that standpoint."
One of the most important messages he shared with the crowd was keeping the focus on academics knowing that there will be life after football eventually.
"It was one of those things that helped me compartmentalize everything, kept me grounded. Football ends for everybody at some point," he said. "Whether you're going to fall back on your degree or the alumni network you have, it's very important to have those lessons and the things you learned along the way off the field."
Seven area football players were winners of one of the foundation's scholarships including Braden Ewing (Tyrone), Brady Albright (Central), Chance Schreier (Bellwood-Antis), Jacob Ott (Hollidaysburg), Ryan Hagg (Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic), Luke Uplinger (Williamsburg student who played at Juniata Valley), and Dekland Estep (Central Cambria).
Additional scholar athlete honorees from the Mirror coverage area include Bron Mosley (Altoona), Alexavier Farrell (Cambria Heights), Troy Misiura (Glendale), Ben Gable (Northern Bedford) and Eli Summerville (Penn Cambria).