James Franklin reacts to Trace McSorley’s first NFL TD, talks his current quarterback situation, and more takeaways

James Franklin will never be surprised by anything Trace McSorley accomplishes, and so it was fitting that he took talking about his former quarterback’s first NFL touchdown pass in stride.

Franklin met with reporters Wednesday night as his 1-5 Nittany Lions continue preparations for Saturday’s trip to Rutgers, and the second question of his roughly 20-minute session pivoted toward McSorley, who only minutes earlier had connected with Ravens’ receiver Hollywood Brown for a 70-yard scoring strike after the record-setting PSU passer replaced Baltimore’s Robert Griffin III in the second half.

McSorley was only on the active roster with a chance to come in because the team’s star, Lamar Jackson, was on the COVID-19/reserve list, and ultimately, Pittsburgh topped its AFC North foe, 19-14, in a game delayed for days because of positive test results. No matter, even Penn State backers who don black and gold on Sundays had to smile while watching McSorley beat the odds again after so many doubted he would have a career in the pros following his time in State College.

“He’s one of those guys that’s going to find a way,” Franklin said. “He wasn’t highly recruited out of high school at the position, got here and right away kind of earned everybody’s respect, obviously had a great career, and he’s just a winner.

“He did it in a high school, he did it in college, and so it doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s doing it again now in the NFL. As you guys know I’m a big Trace McSorley fan. Nothing with that guy surprises me one bit.”

The first question Franklin took focused on his own quarterbacks, and specifically how he feels Sean Clifford and Will Levis have handled ping-ponging back and forth as the team’s starting passer over the last few weeks. The latter replaced the former at Nebraska and then started against Iowa before giving way to Clifford, who then led the Lions to their first victory of the season last Saturday at Michigan, 27-17.

Clifford was far from spectacular in Ann Arbor, but he didn’t turn the ball over, made plays with his legs, and continued to share the field with Levis, who earlier Wednesday said the personnel package that led to his touchdown run against the Wolverines goes by the name of ‘falcon.’

“Obviously, it’s been challenging at times, but I think they both have handled it really well,” Franklin said.

“The thing that helps is they have a pretty close relationship. They’ve handled it, pretty well. Obviously, it’s been hard, but they’ve handled it pretty well.”

It goes without saying that, while Clifford is expected to start against the Scarlet Knights, Levis will have some kind of role in the game before the clock strikes zero for the final time.

Other takeaways from Franklin’s post-practice chat include:

–You can expect to see the Lions continue to rotate in various offensive linemen. Juice Scruggs, Mike Miranda, and CJ Thorpe are all seeing time inside, as is Will Fries when Caedan Wallace comes in at right tackle. That isn’t going to change moving forward.

–In a similar vein, with Devyn Ford now back after missing the victory because of a death in his family, he’ll see snaps, too, at running back in addition to Michigan-win darling Keyvone Lee and fellow freshman Caziah Holmes.

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