Penn State football assistant quarterbacks coach and former star Trace McSorley is leaving the program for a position with the Buffalo Bills, per Lions247’s Daniel Gallen.

McSorley’s departure signals another late coaching staff change after wide receivers coach Noah Pauley left Happy Valley for the same position with the Green Bay Packers in early February. McSorley was set to begin his second year as Penn State’s assistant quarterbacks coach and first under Matt Campbell. He introduced Campbell before the THON 2026 Pep Rally just five days ago.

McSorley was set to work with offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser and quarterbacks coach Jake Waters in the Nittany Lions’ revamped position group. He mentored Drew Allar and Ethan Grunkemeyer alongside Danny O’Brien a season ago. Grunkemeyer showed extreme promise down the stretch after Allar went down with a season-ending ankle injury in October.

McSorley will reunite with former Penn State graduate assistant Joe Brady in Buffalo. Brady was promoted to head coach in late January after five years on the Bills’ staff under Sean McDermott. McSorley will now work with one of the NFL’s superstars and 2024 MVP, Josh Allen.

During McSorley’s Penn State career, he threw for 9,899 yards and 77 touchdowns in 47 games from 2015 to 2018. At the end of his time in Happy Valley, McSorley held Penn State’s career records for wins, completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and total offense. He led the Nittany Lions to four consecutive bowl games, highlighted by a 2017 Fiesta Bowl win and Rose Bowl appearance to cap off the 2016 season.

McSorley was drafted No. 197 overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, where he backed up Lamar Jackson until 2021. He saw time with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021 and 2022 before bouncing around various practice squads until 2024. He chose to enter the coaching sphere with Penn State as his first stop.

About the Author

Oscar Orellana

Oscar is a third-year broadcast journalism student from Los Angeles. He's probably at the movies. He mostly writes about Penn State football. Email him at oscar@onwardstate.com.

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