Against the vaunted Michigan Wolverine defense this past Saturday night, Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley completed 17-of-26 passes for 282 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
The 282 yards were nearly a hundred yards better than any other team has managed against Michigan’s defense this season. It was with his feet, however, where he did even more damage.
McSorley ran on scrambles and reads nine times for 87 yards and three touchdowns.
The entire game was a perfect encapsulation of what McSorley is capable of. He is just as effective throwing as he is running, and he puts pressure on a defense on every single snap.
McSorley will be the best quarterback this Ohio State defense has faced since Baker Mayfield threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns on the Buckeyes six weeks ago.
Obviously, the Ohio State coaches and players are working to make sure a performance like that doesn’t happen again. What are they doing in practice to prepare?
They are calling upon freshman quarterback Tate Martell to don McSorley’s No. 9 jersey and recreate the dual-threat dynamo that they will be facing on Saturday.
How are things going?
“Our scout team is really good. Tate Martell is good,” defensive end Tyquan Lewis said.
Asked if Martell was giving the defense a good look, Lewis didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“Too good of a look,” he chuckled. “Nah, Tate is really elusive, so for him to reenact Trace McSorley is great this week. He’s just been all over the place just trying to make plays on us trying to give us the best look he can.”
Martell is listed one inch shorter than McSorley, so there is certainly some physical resemblance. Martell is the most elusive quarterback the Buckeyes have, so he is also skilled at keeping plays alive. He has also been running run-pass option plays for most of his life.
All of this is showing this week on the scout team.
“Very good look, yep. We’re fortunate to have Tate doing that,” said defensive coordinator Greg Schiano.
It’s not just Martell’s performance that Schiano is happy with, it’s his dedication to being as close to a Trace McSorley clone as he can be.
“We have really good young coaches and they get with these guys and they watch the tape of McSorley,” Schiano explained. “And Tate is so dedicated to what we’re doing, he studies McSorley. He tries to do everything the same way that McSorley does it even if it may not be the way he naturally does it.”
With the help of Tate Martell and the rest of the scout team, Schiano believes his defense is getting as good a look as they could have hoped for in preparation for Penn State.
“I think the scout team has done a great job the last week,” he said, “and we’ve really kicked it into high gear yesterday and today.”