Senior quarterback Trace McSorley earned a pair of finalist selections as he was named a finalist for the 9th annual Pop Warner National College Football Award and as one of 10 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Presented by A. O. Smith.
The 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Presented by A. O. Smith will take place on Dec. 7 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. will be returning to the beautifully renovated Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor & The Grand for the presentation.
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.
The Pop Warner Award was established in 2010 to recognize a graduating senior who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in his community, and serves as a role model to Pop Warner's young student athletes. The Pop Warner Little Scholars National College Football Award will be presented during the annual Pop Warner Super Bowl at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Previously, McSorley was announced as a National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar-Athlete and semifinalist for the Maxwell Award for the Collegiate Player of the Year.
McSorley owns the Penn State career records for: passing yards (9,240), passing touchdowns (72), total offense (10,759), rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (27), touchdowns responsible for (99), 300-yard passing games (10) and 200-yard passing games (26). He is also the school season recordholder for: passing yards (3,614; 2016), completions (284; 2017), passing touchdowns (29; 2016), rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (11; 2017), total offense (4,061; 2017), touchdowns responsible for (37; 2017), 300-yard passing games (5; 2016, 2017) and is tied for the top spot in 200-yard passing games (11; 2016, 2017). McSorley threw at least one touchdown pass in 34-straight games, from the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl until the Indiana game in 2018, a Penn State record and the fifth-longest in FBS Power Five history. In the win over Indiana, McSorley became the first Penn State player and 11th in Big Ten history to eclipse the 10,000-yard mark in total offense. He also ranks third in Big Ten history with 99 touchdowns responsible for behind only Ohio State's JT Barrett (147; 2014-17) and Purdue's Drew Brees (106; 1997-00).
Against Ohio State in September, McSorley established a Nittany Lion record with 461 total yards against Ohio State (9/29/18), including 286 passing and 175 rushing. McSorley ranks No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 34 in the FBS in passing yards per completion (12.82). McSorley is also among the conference's top rushers, ranking No. 13 in the Big Ten, and first among quarterbacks, with 620 rushing yards, while ranking third in the conference with nine rushing touchdowns, which is 36th in the FBS. McSorley is No. 5 in the Big Ten and No. 45 in FBS with 246,1 total yards per game, as well as No. 3 in the conference and No. 39 nationally with 13.2 points responsible for per game.