James Franklin broke the news everyone’s wanted to know since January on Wednesday. Redshirt sophomore Trace McSorley is now officially his starting quarterback.

Franklin: “The biggest thing is, he’s been the backup for two years. There’s value in that.” Says experience helped set McSorley apart.

— Onward State (@OnwardState) August 24, 2016

McSorley learned what it takes to be the face of Penn State’s program while waiting in the wings behind Christian Hackenberg the past two seasons, which undoubtedly made a difference in Franklin’s eventual decision. Redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens did close the gap over the course of the summer, though, according to Franklin.

“I know a lot of people thought that that decision was made during spring ball; it wasn’t,” Franklin said. “We’ve got two quarterbacks that we’ve got a lot of confidence in, but Trace McSorley has earned the job and we’re excited about what he brings to our offense.”

Franklin noted that McSorley won’t have to worry about looking over his shoulder this fall, as he prefers to go with a one-quarterback system. That being said, Stevens will have the chance to gain valuable reps late in games should the opportunity arise.

“You’ve been able to see it already; you’re not projecting as much. It’s how he went about meetings, it’s about practice, it wasn’t one thing,” Franklin said. “Because the statistics were so close, it really ended up being a gut decision.”