Trace McSorley Puts On A Passing Clinic At Pro Day
Penn State held its annual Pro Day on Tuesday, and most eyes were on the throwing ability of quarterback Trace McSorley. Thirty NFL teams were represented in Happy Valley, and McSorley didn’t disappoint by only registering four incompletions.
“I thought I did pretty good,” McSorley said. “I felt comfortable in my drops, and I felt like I was able to throw the ball with some good zip.”
He hit some impressive throws, including these dimes to Miles Sanders and Deandre Thompkins:
McSorley didn’t participate in any timed drills, instead opting to stick with his results at the NFL Scouting Combine, which included a quarterback-best 4.57-second 40-yard dash. Fellow Combine participants Amani Oruwariye, Shareef Miller, and Miles Sanders also decided not to test in timed exercises and only participate in position drills.
Teams asked the Penn State legend to work out at defensive back for the Combine, but McSorley downplayed the hype of those conversations — according to the quarterback, only one scout talked to him about working out at safety.
“I haven’t had any conversations about defensive back with an actual team,” McSorley said. “I’m an athletic guy — I can do a lot of different things. I can fill a lot of different roles for different teams. I focused so much on quarterback for the last five years, and that’s where my mindset is.”
Penn State’s all-time winningest quarterback says the request put just another chip on his shoulder.
“I tend to view it more as a compliment to my athletic ability,” he said. “For me, I feel like I’m a quarterback, and it does sort of put a chip on my shoulder. I’m a quarterback — that’s what I did in high school and that’s what I did in college.”
It’s easy to see why McSorley has a chip on his shoulder after being considered to work out as a defensive back. After all, he set the Penn State career records in wins, passing yards, and passing touchdowns during his three seasons as the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback.
Although McSorley didn’t see any disrespect in the defensive back requests, his teammates definitely did.
“Trace is the hardest working, most dedicated, and smartest kid I know. At quarterback, he’s done nothing but excel,” cornerback Amani Oruwariye said. “I thought asking him to play DB was disrespectful. As a quarterback, all he’s done is prove people wrong. I think he’s going to do it again.”
On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver DeAndre Thompkins was a top performer at Pro Day. He ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash and caught most of the passes thrown his way during McSorley’s extensive passing drills.
Thompkins joined Penn State in the same recruiting class as McSorley, so he’s gotten pretty familiar with the quarterback over the years. He also backed the signal caller at the next level.
“Trace is always one of those guys who pays attention to the details and makes sure he’s on point,” Thompkins said. “I knew he was going to bring it, and it was my job to match it. He proved to y’all every day why he is a quarterback. The stats prove it, the game film proves it, the X’s and O’s prove it.
“He’s a winner, he’s a quarterback, and that’s the only position he should be playing.”
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