A pair of Penn State lettermen will be the honorary captains for Saturday’s White Out game against Iowa.
Former QB Trace McSorley and former CB Grant Haley will be on the field for the coin toss, coach James Franklin announced Tuesday afternoon in his weekly presser.
This will be Penn State’s third home game of 2023 and thus its third set of captains. Before Week 1’s opener against West Virginia, Penn State had former receiver and current Steeler Allen Robinson back, as well as longtime defensive coordinator/interim head coach Tom Bradley. In Week 2’s game against Delaware, a pair of key members from the 1973 undefeated team, Mark Markovich and Ed O’Neil, were the captains.
McSorley was there for last year’s White Out game against Minnesota. Former New York Giants QB Eli Manning was also in attendance, and it’s not clear whether he’ll be back for this year’s game. But odds are probably against it. Manning is a busy man, and last year’s appearance was during Penn State’s “Chad Powers” phenomenon.
McSorley was with New England through the preseason but got released toward the end of August.
Haley is currently an NFL free agent with five years of league experience under his belt. He most recently played with the Rams (2021-22) and helped them win the Super Bowl during the 2021 season.
But Haley’s best known to Penn State fans for his time in college, particularly returning Marcus Allen’s blocked kick for the winning score of Penn State’s landmark upset over No. 2 Ohio State at Beaver Stadium.
For whatever it’s worth, McSorley and Haley never lost to Iowa. McSorley went 3-0 and Haley went 2-0. McSorley’s walk-off TD pass to Juwan Johnson in Iowa City in 2017 is still a play beloeved by Penn State fans.
