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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 4, 2018Trace McSorleyUniversity Park, Pennsylvania Q. Trace, what has this summer been like for you? Your name's everywhere, Heisman Trophy discussion, magazines. Coach Rahne said you're the same person you were in high school, but what has all of this been like for you just to see it play out? TRACE McSORLEY: I mean, it's definitely been an honor seeing all these things happen, where you know, I'm getting mentioned in this and that and there's all these stories coming out. But you know, to me, my job is to be the best quarterback for Penn State, and be the best captain and leader I can be for this team, and that's kind of the approach I've taken is just focusing on that and not worrying about all the outside noise and all that kind of stuff. Really, just staying focused on the task at hand. I know that stuff that's out of my control and if I start worrying about that and start trying to do too much and buying into that, I'm going to think I'm better than I really am or if I hear other things, I'll think I'm worse than I really am. Just one of those things I take in stride and focus on my job here. Q. Obviously you were a leader last year, but guys that have been around the program for a while have left. What are you doing now that you are the face of the program? TRACE McSORLEY: I've had to take a little bit more of a vocal role as the leader, with the other guys, like we had Jason, Marcus, Mike, DaeSean, Saquon, guys, that really -- seven, eight, I think we had eight captains last year. So between all of us, we could all lead by example and that was no problem and a lot of us, like I personally didn't have to be too vocal. The senior guys last year would step up and be the vocal voice of the team. Now as the senior and the guy returning, I've kind of got to be a little more vocal and that's something I've done more this off-season, just kind of being more vocal and trying to, I guess, bridge the gap of some of these guys who are coming in and in their first year, might not have that game experience. Trying to offer what I've experienced so they can buy from that and take from that and be able to use that and try to gain some experience that way. Really, I've been kind of the same person I've been. I guess coach Rahne said I'm the same person. So I just try to continue do that and I've been trying to be more vocal this year. That's something what when me and Coach Franklin met and discussed during the winter, was something I've got to do a little bit more. Q. Very few guys in their fifth year in the program with you, five or six other guys. This is your fifth year, Coach Franklin's fifth year and you've seen everything from the bottom up. What are the thoughts as you start your last preseason camp about the history here that you've recorded and what lies ahead? TRACE McSORLEY: You know, I think kind of looking back on the last five years, I think it's awesome to see how far our team has grown kind of collectively and how much our chemistry has improved from when I first got here to what it is now,. And I think that's been a big key to kind of our success the last couple years is the chemistry and buy-in in Coach Franklin's program and what his message is, and just the chemistry amongst the entire team. That's been really, I think the biggest contributor to how we've been able to be as successful as we have been the last couple years, and you know, I think that chemistry and everyone understands that, and now these are all Coach Franklin's guys, so to speak, guys that they are recruiting, they have only heard his message. So now it's easier to get that bye-in and chemistry, especially from these guys, so now it's just hitting the ground running with that kind of stuff. We've been able to that and the chemistry on this team has been able to grow, and even losing guys every year, it keeps growing and growing and getting better and better. And I think that's something that is to be said about the guys in the locker room is that it doesn't really matter who is in there; that chemistry is always strong and we're always going to be a tight-knit group. I'm looking forward this year and seeing the chemistry we have coming in, I'm really excited to be able to finally get out there and play with those guys. We've been working out for so long. Now I'm just ready to get out and start playing with these guys. Q. Somebody works at your high school had you down to 130 pounds as a freshman. Curious what you actually weighed then. Also, can you indulge me and go back to the very beginning, like your freshman year, what could you do, what couldn't you do and what did you know and what didn't you know way back? TRACE McSORLEY: That's probably about right. My freshman year in high school, I was probably 130, 140 soaking wet. I was a little kid. And then you're talking about like what I knew as a freshman in high school? To me, when I stepped in as a freshman in high school, I felt like I had a decent knowledge of kind of football. I knew what Cover 2 was, knew what Cover 3 was, but that was probably the extent of it; whatever I had been able to gain from Madden to that point. But at that point it was just playing football. I grew up just loving the game. I just wanted to go out and play and have fun. That's kind of who I've been, even to this day. Obviously I've grown, and been able to understand more about football and gained from Coach Rahne, Coach Moorhead, Coach Franklin, and guys like Christian Hackenberg; guys that I've been able to actually gain legitimate football knowledge and not just from a video game. When I got there as a freshman, it was just, I love football and I just want to go out and play and have fun. Q. You talked about the chemistry and Coach Rahne was talking about distributing the ball to nine different guys in the first 21 plays against Washington. First, second down that's all well and good. But in third down in that chemistry situation and you're used to seeing Mike and Saquon, for a quarterback, you get into the heat of the game in a pivotal third down, how long do you think it will take you to build chemistry as the season progresses? TRACE McSORLEY: You know, I don't think it will take that long. I've got complete trust in all the guys we got out there now. If we were to go out and face a tough third down right now, today, I'm confident that all our guys, we understand the game plan and what we're trying to attack. And we feel confident in what we're running; that those guys are going to do their job and be able to get out there and make the play. So for me, it's not having to adjust to, I don't see Mike. I feel like I can't get that guy the ball. It's not really that. It's just, you know, developing that chemistry a little bit more, understanding how they run routes a little bit differently, and what each one excels at differently, but I think that's the biggest difference. But it's not a trust issue as far as, hey, we've got a tough situation, I don't see my normal guy out there. It's, hey, I'm going through the read and that's kind of one of the things that Coach Rahne presses on the quarterback is that you can't predetermine things, and that's something we've heard Coach Moorhead say before when he was here. But Coach Rahne has continued that; you can't predetermine where you're going to go because of a matchup. You have to let the defense dictate where you go with the ball, and I think that plays into that kind of mentality. Q. Last year for camp you grew your mustache out. I notice you have a bit of a mustache going on again. Is it back? TRACE McSORLEY: Yeah, I was really debating getting rid of this (chin stubble) if I could grow any more -- (Laughter). Q. Looking at the tight ends, a couple of the younger guys, Zack Kuntz and Pat Freiermuth, what's your relationship with those guys, and do you expect them to possibly make an impact here early especially with the new rule with them, freshmen at the very least being able to play four games? TRACE McSORLEY: I've got a really good relationship with both those guys. They both came in with a really good mentality. Obviously Zack came in in the winter and was able to go through winter workouts with us some spring ball and he has a good base of the kind of knowledge and offense of our system. Pat has come in and done good things with work outs. He came in with a good mentality and he was able to be here for the beginning of the summer, so he had a little longer than other guys in his class. The two of them have a really good mindset coming into this camp. They both just want to come in and learn and compete as much as they possibly can and make plays. Hopefully -- or not hopefully, but I guess that will be something that if Coach Franklin sees a use for them if they can come out and help us in the first couple games with the new rule, I guess that would be up to Coach Franklin and the other coaches, but just kind of see how that all plays out. Q. The Baker Mayfield comparisons, you're probably going to hear that a million times over the next few months. Do you know enough about his game to see a comparison or is there a quarterback current or past that you would maybe say your game is kind of similar to? TRACE McSORLEY: I mean, those comparisons are going to come. I think one thing that we both do when we play is that we both tend to play with a lot of passion and a lot of excitement and I think that really shows when you watch Baker on film and try and take what he does, is that every time he's out there, he's out there having fun. He's extremely passionate about what he's doing and he's a huge competitor. I think that's where the biggest comparison between he and him. Obviously our statures are similar and we play in similar kind of offenses, spread offenses, that utilize mobile quarterbacks and things like that but that's probably the biggest comparison and most common is that -- we're most alike in that we're both extremely competitive and love to go out and play football and play with a lot of passion. As far as guys I try to mold my game, after a couple guys. Drew Brees is someone I've all loved to watch and study and see what makes him great and that's someone I continue to try and look at. Russell Wilson, another guy from Virginia, who is similar stature and similar kind of play style. I think those two guys are probably the two that I try and study the most, as far as trying to pick up things in the off-season to try and work on and when we get into spring camp and summer and fall camp. Q. Two years ago, there were a lot of guys on this team, yourself included, who were asked to step up and play bigger roles than they had been used to playing and that kind of worked out pretty well for you guys that year, but do you see any similarities as to what's been asked of some of the guys now who are being asked to step up and play big roles this year? TRACE McSORLEY: I think there are some similarities there. As far as having guys that are going to have to grow up pretty quickly, hopefully we can get that all worked out through camp. Our coaches do a really good job of trying to make our practices a lot harder than the games and trying to make them as game like so what when you get into the game, there's nothing shocking you. I think that's something that we're going to try and work out through camp and when we get into the first couple of games, there might be a couple growing pains with some of these young guys and that's something that even I had to learn. If I go back to the Kent State game or even Pitt, the mistake I made at the end of that game, that's learning experience that you don't get unless you're playing in the game. I think that's something that you've kind of got to not expect but you want to try and get all that worked out in camp. I think our young guys that are going to be asked to step up and maybe grow up a little bit faster, have done a really good job this summer of taking the right approach and taking that right mindset. It's helpful that they have been able to learn from guys like DaeSean and Mike and Juwan still being here, showing these guys the ropes; Saquon being here. I think that's really helped these young guys that are going to be stepping up to be able to see their approach and how they did it and be able to take that so that they are mature beyond their years at this point. Q. You mentioned Christian Hackenberg and how much he mentored you when you first came in. It looks like he's kind of hit a wall. Have you been in touch with him? Are the tables turned where you're trying to encourage him now? TRACE McSORLEY: I haven't really been in touch with him. I haven't really talked to him. I just try to stay up-to-date as much as possible whatever I can get from news and Twitter and whatever is out there. I haven't been in contact with him but obviously I want the best for him. I think he's a tremendous talent and he did help me out a lot. He's been someone that I credit a lot of what I've been able to do here and credit a lot to what he was able to teach me when I was a freshman, red-shirt freshman here. I think just kind of hope the best for him and I feel like he can stick on somewhere. He needs the opportunity and I think once he gets that opportunity, he'll be able to take advantage of it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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