Nov. 1, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior quarterback Trace McSorley (Ashburn, Va.) is among the 10 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which is presented to the nation's top quarterback based on his accomplishments on and off the field.
The Golden Arm Award is presented at the end of each football season and the winner is selected based on his accomplishments both on and off the field. Candidates must be a college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with their class. The Golden Arm Award is named in honor of Johnny Unitas, who was an 18-year veteran of the NFL and played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville before joining the Baltimore Colts in 1958. His career passing figures include 2,830 pass completions for 40,239 yards, 290 touchdowns and throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games.
McSorley is second in the Big Ten and in the top-20 in FBS in completion percentage (65.9; 13th in FBS), total offense (296.8; 19th) and points responsible for per game (18.0; 11th). He is also third in the conference in passing touchdowns (16) and passing yards per game (258.9). McSorley is also dangerous on the ground, ranking third in the Big Ten with eight rushing touchdowns. He is the first quarterback in program history to having both a rushing and passing touchdown in four consecutive games. McSorley has thrown for a touchdown in 23 consecutive games, which is a school record and the second-longest active streak in FBS).
With four total touchdowns, including a quarterback school-record three rushing scores, against No. 19/15 Michigan, McSorley was selected as the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week, Davey O'Brien Award National Quarterback of the Week and the Manning Award National Quarterback of the Week. He has six 200-yard passing games on the season, including a pair of 300-yard outings. With 16 passing scores on the season, McSorley has upped his career passing touchdowns to 47, which is second in Penn State history behind Christian Hackenberg's 48 scores.
The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions travel to No. 24 Michigan State Saturday at noon on FOX. The game can also be heard on GoPSUsports.com and the Penn State Sports Network.
Single-game tickets for the 2017 Penn State football season presented by PSECU are available for the two remaining home games (Rutgers, Nebraska). For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2018 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 9 a.m-4:30 p.m. More than 9,000 new season tickets have been sold and the season ticket allotment for 2017 has been exhausted.