Dec. 29, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State head coach James Franklin and sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley (Ashburn, Va.) were honored by the Maxwell Football Club as the Tri-State Coach of the Year and Brian Westbrook Award Tri-State Player of the Year, respectively.
The pair will be honored Friday, March 10, 2017 at the 80th Maxwell Club National Awards Gala, which will be held at the Tropicana Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Franklin is the first Penn State coach to earn Tri-State Coach of the Year honors.
Franklin was named the Sporting News National Coach of the Year. He is the second Penn State head coach to win the honor, joining Joe Paterno, who claimed the award in 2005. He was also selected as the College Sports Madness National Coach of the Year. Additionally, he is a finalist for the 2016 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award as presented by the Football Writers Association of America.
Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to their first Big Ten Championship since 2008 and fourth overall (1994, 2005, 2008). He led the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten East title, its second divisional title (2011). Franklin guided the Lions to a No. 5 ranking in the CFP, Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls, the highest ranking for the Nittany Lions since 2009.
At 11-2, Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to their sixth 11-win season since Penn State joined the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are riding a nine-game winning streak, which is the program's longest since 2009. Penn State finished 8-1 in Big Ten play, marking the second eight-win conference season in program history to join the 1994 team that went 8-0.
The third-year head coach has earned Big Ten Coach of the Year from the Associated Press and the conference's media. Franklin's Dave McLain Big Ten Coach of the Year marks the fifth time a Penn State head coach has won the honor, joining Paterno (1994, 2005, 2008) and Bill O'Brien (2012).
McSorley earned the Grange-Griffin Most Valuable Player award as MVP of the Big Ten Championship game after throwing for a Big Ten Championship game-record 384 yards and four touchdowns. He was also a second-team All-Big Ten choice by the conference's coaches and media and was named the Big Ten's Breakout Player of the Year by Athlon Sports. McSorley, who leads FBS in yards per completion (16.31), is the first Nittany Lion quarterback to earn All-Big Ten accolades since Daryll Clark in 2009.
The Ashburn, Virginia native tallied five 300-yard and 10 200-yard passing games this season and has thrown for a touchdown in 14 consecutive games to tie Kerry Collins (1993-94) for the school record. McSorley became the first Penn State signal caller since Matt McGloin in 2012 to have a rushing and passing touchdown in three consecutive games. Additionally, McSorley is the first Penn State quarterback with consecutive games throwing four touchdown passes (Todd Blackledge, 1982; vs. Temple, Maryland and Rutgers).
The sophomore is in the midst of one of the top quarterback campaigns in program history, breaking the Penn State season record for passing yards (3,360), passing touchdowns (25) and total offense records (3,712). He is also second on the school's season chart for passing efficiency rating (156.6) and third in yards per pass attempt. McSorley has thrown TD passes to 10 different receivers, marking the first time since 1971 a Penn State quarterback found 10-plus pass catchers for scores. He is also just the fourth Penn State quarterback to lead his team to 10 wins in his first year as the starting quarterback, joining Daryll Clark in 2008 (12), Tom Shuman in 1973 (12-0) and Chuck Burkhart in 1968 (11-0)
Tickets for the Maxwell Football Club National Awards Gala are available for purchase on the Club's website https://maxwellfootballclub.org/maxwell-football-club-national-awards-gala or by calling 215-643-3833.
Penn State won its first Big Ten Championship since 2008 and fourth overall with an 11-2 record and an 8-1 mark in Big Ten play. The No. 5 Nittany Lions will be making their fourth Rose Bowl appearance (1923, 1995, 2009, 2017).
The Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual is slated for Monday, Jan. 2, at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on ESPN. The game vs. USC will also air on the Penn State Sports Network (3:30 p.m. ET airtime) and ESPN Radio.
For more information on the game, the Rose Parade, parking maps, events and the Rose Bowl Stadium bag policy and regulations, visit the Rose Bowl game day website at rosebowlgame.org.