As a fan of college football and Penn State, in particular, Peyton Falzone and his family have made numerous trips from Nazareth, Pa. to Beaver Stadium for a Saturday afternoon game.
Falzone, who is a quarterback himself, grew up being a big fan of former Nittany Lions star Trace McSorley.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound sophomore is starting to get noticed by different schools as he’s attending different camps, but an offer from Penn State would rank pretty high for Falzone.
On Sunday, Falzone was in State College, along with hundreds of other recruits from around the country, hoping to perform well enough to earn an offer from the Nittany Lions.
Mission accomplished for Falzone as he got the exciting news that he’d received an offer from the school that he’d grown up rooting for. Earlier last week, Falzone picked up his first Power Four offer, which came from Virginia Tech.
After a great conversation and camp I am very thankful and blessed to announce I have received a Division 1 offer from @PennStateFball. Thanks to @coachjfranklin @Kotelnicki @DannyOBrienQB @chrismahon_ for this amazing opportunity. #WEARE @iamCoachAbe @EdOBrienCFB… pic.twitter.com/L5tDdqP73I
— Peyton Falzone (@PeytonFalzone) June 9, 2024
“This offer definitely means a little bit more,” said Falzone. “I grew up watching Penn State, it would be a crazy program to play for, so I’m very blessed to receive this opportunity. Virginia Tech is also an amazing school, too, though, so I feel very blessed to be receiving these opportunities.
“Trace McSorley was my guy. My dad and I would come up to games and watch him because he was so much fun. I was also a fan of Jahan Dotson, who’s actually from my high school. He had a great career there and is obviously playing now for the Washington Commanders. I loved being around him. I was a ball boy for the high school team when he was playing and then to be able to watch him play at Penn State was pretty special.”
A player can have many different expectations when attending a college camp. Some players go with the hopes of just picking things up from the coaches which will help them improve their game. Others go to catch the eye of the Penn State staff and to, hopefully, one day appear on their radar. Some players know it’s a real possibility that they can earn an offer with a solid performance.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“Personally, I look at these camps as learning opportunities,” said Falzone. “It’s an opportunity to learn how that particular coaching staff coaches, how they operate, how they work as a group. Also, when you go to any camp, there’s an opportunity to earn an offer, anything can happen. You can test really well, you can throw really well, anything can happen. I just go and try to take as much information as I can with the goal of making myself a better player.
Sophomore Season Highlights
District XI 6A Champions
First Team All Area QB
Check out Peyton Falzone's Top Plays of The Year on @Hudl https://t.co/QCynnV5yJm #hudl— Peyton Falzone (@PeytonFalzone) January 6, 2024
“They had us doing a decent number of throws on the run, along with movement throws. They also had us throw a number of different concepts, making sure your eyes are right and your feet are going toward the target. That’s something that all camps don’t do, so the concepts part of it is something that I really enjoyed. And at the end, they always do those 1-on-1 throws. That’s what it looked like from a quarterback’s standpoint.”
After impressing the Penn State offensive coaching staff, Falzone and his father were called into James Franklin’s office, where he received the huge news.
“It was coach Franklin, coach O’Brien and a few other coaches,” said Falzone. “They sat us down and he (coach Franklin) asked me how I think I did. I told him that I thought I performed and tested well. Then he asked my dad a couple of questions about his background and stuff like that. Eventually, he said that we would like to offer you a full scholarship to come play at Penn State. We think that the sky is the limit for you, so it was very cool.
“Getting that news was just a wild experience. My dad and I kind of just stared at each other for a while and tried to process just what happened. It’s crazy because my dad is also my head coach, so we’ve gone through it all with football. Going through everything growing up, through high school and now getting news like this together. I wish my mom was there too because they’ve both had a huge impact on my life.”
Although Peyton’s mom wasn’t in the room, he made sure that she was the first phone call that he made, and it was very emotional.
“She was stunned,” Falzone said. “After I told her, she said that she felt like she needed to lay down. My sisters were crying, but my mom was more shocked. It was great to be able to surprise her.”
