Penn State QB Trace McSorley briefly leaves game vs. Iowa due to injury

In the second quarter of Penn State’s game against Iowa in Happy Valley, Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley took a big hit. He returned to the game, left for the locker room again before the half, and ultimately returned in the second half.

While he was escaping a blitz, he was tackled in a pile and appeared to land hard on his right knee. Trainers immediately came out and tended to McSorley.

He got up and walked with trainers to the sideline, visibly limping on his right knee. He went into the injury tent on the sideline to be evaluated.

McSorley’s back-up, Tommy Stevens. was seen warming up on the sidelines during Penn State’s defensive series against Iowa. McSorley eventually came out of the tent, and per the ESPN sideline report, he has a “big brace on his right knee” and is wincing while receiving testing on his knee.

Stevens came out for McSorley until his return late in the second quarter. Before the end of the half, McSorley went into the locker room and Stevens was back out yet again. In the second half, McSorley returned, and even had a 51-yard touchdown run.

McSorley’s been Penn State’s starter since 2016. So far this season, he’s thrown for 1,461 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Stevens may be a back-up, but he’s got some major talent:

But his backup, Tommy Stevens, is a 6’5, 225-pound freak athlete who narrowly lost the 2016 competition for Christian Hackenberg’s job to McSorley. The opportunity cost of him languishing on the bench was a fairly steep one. On top of that, Stevens considered transferring after the 2017 season so that he could use his two years of eligibility as a starter, rather than going all-in on one year after McSorley left.

“Tommy Stevens to me, in 75 percent of the programs out there, he’s a starter and a winner,” Penn State DC Brent Pry has said, adding that he’d love it if Stevens played defense too. “The kid can spin the ball, he can run it, he’s a take-charge guy.”

A likely factor in Stevens’ determination to stay was Penn State’s commitment to using him in a variety of roles. He’s technically listed as Penn State’s 12th starter, with the position name Lion. They tooled around with a two-QB package in 2017, which they should expand as part of a plan to rebuild an offense that lost OC Joe Moorhead, RB Saquon Barkley, TE Mike Gesicki, and WR DaeSean Hamilton.

While a viable backup, the Nittany Lions are certainly glad McSorley is back in action.