The Maxwell Football Club has named Penn State coach James Franklin Tri-State Coach of the Year and sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley as the Brian Westbrook Award Tri-State Player of the Year.
The pair will be honored March 10 at the 80th Maxwell Club National Awards Gala in Atlantic City, N.J.
Franklin is the first Penn State coach to win Tri-State Coach of the Year.
Earlier this month, Franklin was named the Sporting News National Coach of the Year. He is the second Penn State head coach to win the honor, joining Joe Paterno, who won it in 2005. He is also a finalist for the 2016 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award presented by the Football Writers Association of America.
Franklin was selected Big Ten Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and the conference’s media. His Dave McLain Big Ten Coach of the Year honor is the fifth time a Penn State coach has won the honor, joining Paterno (1994, 2005, 2008) and Bill O’Brien (2012).
McSorley was named the Grange-Griffin Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Championship Game after throwing for a game-record 384 yards and four touchdowns. He was a second-team All-Big Ten choice and was named the Big Ten’s Breakout Player of the Year by Athlon Sports. McSorley is the first Penn State quarterback to earn All-Big Ten honors since Daryll Clark in 2009.
