Trace McSorley, Micah Parsons bring football back to Beaver Stadium for a day

York Daily Record

Trace McSorley looked strong, as expected, running Penn State's first-string offense in Saturday's Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium. He ran the ball particularly well in the first half. It was his first action since leading the Lions to a Fiesta Bowl victory over Washington.

STATE COLLEGE — The latest edition of the Blue-White Game was never intended to be fair, even by scrimmage standards.

Nearly all of the first-line players and even key backups played for the Blue squad Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Most of the top-shelf rookies, too.

And it all revolved around senior quarterback Trace McSorley, early on, at least.

McSorley didn't have his top-returning receiver in action. Rather, he worked Saturday's first-half passing game mostly to newbies Cam Sullivan-Brown and Mac Hippenhammer.

He also ran the ball a lot. He carried six times for 41 yards and was the game's leading rusher. His decision-making and execution will be one of the main keys to the upcoming season, and he looked comfortable and quick doing so here.

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His best moment happened just before exiting for the day late in the second quarter. He avoided pressure (quarterbacks cannot be sacked on this day), ran out of the pocket to his right and flung deep down the right side to redshirt freshman K.J. Hamler.

The speedy Hamler made a nice move on the sideline, only to fumble it away on a hit from safety Lamont Wade.

McSorley was 10-of-14 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown.

Now, for more observations from a sun-splashed Beaver Stadium on the best spring football day of the year ...

Injuries and opportunities

Backup quarterback Tommy Stevens, who expects to increase his multi-use role this season, looked good warming up before the game. He was finally out of the walking boot and recovering from the lower leg injury that sidelined him most of the spring.

Still, he did not play Saturday.

Also out were standout receiver Juwan Johnson and promising defensive end Shane Simmons. They were both equipped with boots for undisclosed injuries.

Johnson's injury provided extra playing time for redshirt freshman Sullivan-Brown. He made three early catches, including a strong, leaping grab across the middle for 24 yards.

Impressive efforts on defense

Rookie Harrisburg linebacker Micah Parsons has been talked about more than most of his established teammates this spring.

He is Penn State's highest-rated recruit in several years.

And he turned in a steady if not impressive performance for the stacked Blue squad on Saturday. He made a game-high six tackles, including a sack.

At safety, redshirt freshman Jonathan Sutherland has been talked about for his wicked hitting ever since arriving on campus. He will push for serious playing time this fall. On Saturday, he stuck a couple of ballcarriers particularly hard and had five tackles.

Then there's Wade, who is making the move from cornerback to safety. He looked comfortable, especially early on with five tackles and that forced fumble.

Off the field, he just became a father.

And after the game, coach James Franklin called redshirt sophomore cornerback Zech McPhearson one of his standout players on the day. He registered a game-high three pass breakups, two of them nearly interceptions of McSorley.

Recruiting Bonanza

James Franklin punctuated the busiest Blue-White Game in his short tenure — and one of the biggest recruiting weekends in school history with a top verbal commitment.

New Jersey's Caedan Wallace, one of the top guards in the nation, committed to Penn State Saturday during his recruiting visit, according to Lions247. He chose the Nittany Lions over an impressive list of scholarship offers, from Oklahoma to South Carolina to Stanford, Clemson, LSU, Michigan and Florida State.

Around 200 recruits were on for the scrimmage, thanks to a new NCAA policy that allows recruits to take university-paid official visits from April through June. They can resume taking official visits in September.

Headlining the official visitor group was five-star Ohio defensive end Zach Harrison — one of the nation's best regardless of position — and Virginia running back Devyn Ford.

Other notable recruits on hand included four-star New Jersey defensive end Antonio Alfano and Harrisburg three-star linebacker Andre White. Headlining the 2020 recruiting class were the nation’s top overall player, Maryland end Bryce Bresse, and Pennsylvania's top prospect and No. 1 receiver Julian Fleming, from Southern Columbia.

Senior Mark Allen (8) ran hard and effective again in a starring role in the Blue-White Game. Here, he was tackled in last year's scrimmage by Ayron Monroe. This time, he scored a first-half touchdown for the Blue team.

Award winners

The annual spring winners provides a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes progress of some key Lions.

At halftime, these standouts were announced: redshirt junior tackle Kevin Givens (defense), junior running back Miles Sanders (offense), senior running back Johnathan Thomas (special teams) and junior receiver Juwan Johnson and junior cornerback John Reid (total commitment).