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PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL: PENN STATE VS WASHINGTON

December 26, 2017

Trace McSorley

Glendale, Arizona

TRACE MCSORLEY: To be where we're at now with an opportunity to win the Fiesta Bowl and send these guys out on a high note, some that knew we kind of cement their legacy at Penn State, having been the guys that came here when the sanctions just came out, to last year winning the Big Ten and going to the Rose Bowl. And that not working out for us.

But to be able to look back at last year, we won the Big Ten. And no one in their right mind would have thought that would have happening when they were coming here. And now to be able to go out, on a high note, winning the Fiesta Bowl, is something that would complete those guys' legacy.

Q. You mentioned legacy. Saquon, his decision to go to the NFL after the game. 20 years from now, when somebody asks you: What was he like? Are you going to think of him as a football player, making these exhilarating wow plays, or are you going to think of him as a character person?
TRACE MCSORLEY: In 20 years, if someone asks me, first thing that will come to mind is the type of player he is and the once-in-a-generation talent that he is.

But the more you kind sit back and think about it, he's an extremely high-character guy, something it's been a pleasure to get to know him and be in the backfield with him over the last couple of years, and I think that's something that I'll be able to kind of cherish with me throughout the rest of my life is, one, the tremendous player that he is.

But then to be able to know him as a person, how he carries himself, and being able to tell my kids one day you're watching the highlights of Saquon Barkley at Penn State and be amazed by him, but you don't know he was one of the best guys I've ever been around in my life.

So to be able to have that is something that's going to be really cool in the future.

Q. How does that experience pay off for you in a game like this week?
TRACE MCSORLEY: I think being at a bowl game and the experience we've had so far, it's really important for you to stay present. When you're out at the different bowl events, when we go to Topgolf later, when we go the Brazilian steakhouse tonight, being able to enjoy that, enjoy it with your teammates.

Like I said, a lot of the seniors will be moving on, you won't get this time back with them. So to be able to enjoy that, enjoy hanging out in the hotel in the PlayStation suite where guys are arguing over Madden and getting in fights like that and being able to enjoy those times.

But when you get into meetings and practice, being focused there, getting the most out of every single meeting and every single practice.

When you've got free time laying in the room, you're being able to watch film, get extra film sessions in and be able to review the practices again and be able to see some more game tape of Washington, being able to do film studies and stuff like that.

I think being present and taking advantage of the free time that you get and enjoying the experience. Really ultimately we're here, we want to get a win. And that's kind of the overarching goal and overarching theme this week. I think being present is something that's really going to help us to achieve that goal.

Q. When you look back at your tapes and whatnot, do you watch both the good and the bad and what affects you the most?
TRACE MCSORLEY: You watch the whole season as it's kind of a whole. And the bad definitely does stick out to you more because those are things that you want to improve and you want to get better at.

So I think the bad things stick out to you a little bit more. But being able to kind of see the good things and understand why the good things happen: Was it protection adjustment that allowed us to be able to hit this open guy down the field? Or how, as a quarterback, how we were able to right a handoff to get the guy to try and jump and be able to pull it and get a big gain on the ground is something, being able to understand why good things happen and be able to replicate that more and more as well as knowing how to improve the bad things is something that can really help you as a player and as a team take your game to the next level.

Q. The Rose Bowl was such an amazing game. What did you take away from that game? And can you apply some of that to this game?
TRACE MCSORLEY: I think the biggest takeaway as a team we can take away from that game is it was a tremendous game, one that will go down in Rose Bowl history as one of the most exciting games to watch.

But coming out on the losing end of that is something that it kind of makes the entire Rose Bowl experience for us not as exciting because it's always going to be dampened with, you know, great experience but we lost.

So that's kind of one of those things we've talked about this week, is winning the game makes the entire experience that much better. The food tasted a little better. The sky was a little bluer that entire week, when you look back at it because you won the game.

I think that's something that being able to take that away from the Rose Bowl, it was a tremendous experience but it didn't play out how we wanted it to, so it ended up not being as enjoyable for us was something that we were able to take into this week.

Q. Washington players said kind of the same thing. We got to the final four last year but we didn't win. So you're left with kind of an empty feeling at some level, even though it was a great accomplishment.
TRACE MCSORLEY: Yeah, exactly. I understand what you're saying, not saying didn't like going to the Rose Bowl. Going to the Rose Bowl is one of the greatest things as a college football player you can experience. Granddaddy of them all, that great tradition.

But it definitely does kind of give you an empty feeling having not come off with a win. You don't go into the offseason on a high horse, kind of come in a little bit upset, not wanting to have that happen again.

Q. Talk about Barkley. As a quarterback, to have a Heisman caliber running back there in the backfield with you, how reassuring or how much comfort does that give you to be able to just give the ball to a guy like that?
TRACE MCSORLEY: It's huge. As a quarterback and being able to share the backfield with him, one, you can see it in how a team's trying to attack us.

A lot of teams have tried to add seven, eight, nine guys to the box, to try to stop the run and contain him. And that's left us with really good matchups outside one-on-ones or being able to take advantage of some things there. And then, I mean, the passing game, he's become a tremendous receiver for us.

And as a quarterback, knowing, go through all your progressions, finding the checkdown. But when that guy is checked down, having to go against Georgia State, find the checkdown and he went 85. And that's the easiest 85-yard touchdown pass I've had in my life.

For me as a quarterback to be able to understand that you can work through progression. You don't have to try and force it down the field to a guy that might be a little bit covered, might be tightly covered. If you can work down through the progression, if nothing is open, being able to find him or run the ball. For me, it's something -- it really is a huge comfort level for us.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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