Veilleux debut reminds of another Penn State No. 9
Christian Veilleux's performance with both his arm and his legs had some Penn State fans reminiscing about another recent Nittany Lions' No. 9.
The similarities were, at times, a bit too on the nose.
The most obvious one is the jersey number, the No. 9 that has become synonymous with one name when it comes to Penn State football. Then there was the situation, filling in for a veteran quarterback who was forced out mid-game and could well be moving on from the program at the close of the season.
But the biggest similarity, to many, was the way that the two performed.
In his debut performance for Penn State, true freshman quarterback Christian Veilleux couldn't help but remind fans and media alike of former Nittany Lions' star Trace McSorley.
McSorley, like Veilleux was forced into action when Christian Hackenberg went out injured early in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl against Georgia. While McSorley wasn't perfect, the then redshirt freshman showed flashes of promise in helping Penn State fight back from a 24-3 deficit against the Bulldogs before eventually falling late, 24-17.
Rutgers is not Georgia, of course, even if that Georgia team wasn't the same one that many are picking to win a national championship this season. But the similarities in play were pretty striking.
Like McSorley, Veilleux took a little while to settle in, stalling out and showing up and down play in his early possessions. But also like McSorley, Veilleux showed poise, looking in control of the offense and making some plays that led fans in attendance and watching on TV to see why coaches had heaped praise on the freshman in recent weeks.
A quick look at the box score shows similarities as well. Veilleux threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns while going 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) on the day, while McSorley, in more limited action against a tougher defense, went 14-of-27 (51.8 percent) for 142 two touchdowns and no picks. On the ground, both were effective when need be. McSorley ran the ball seven times for 31 yards (4.4 yards per carry), while Veilleux toted the rock 10 times for 36 yards (3.6 yards per carry). In fact, Veilleux showed a good deal of mobility for a quarterback that Big Ten Network broadcaster and Penn State legend Matt Millen informed the masses wasn't much of a runner. The Canadian import did, after all, clock a 40 time in the 4.6 range at the Elite 11 camp as a senior in high school.
But the similarities between the two go beyond the box score, as well. Veilleux's confidence, like McSorley's, seemed to resonate through the team.
That extends to the defensive side of the ball as well. Asked about Veilleux's impact and what he's seen from him in practice, defensive end Arnold Ebiketie said that the freshman's performance against Rutgers didn't come as a surprise.
"We knew he was one of those guys," Ebiketie said. "Coming in as a freshman, you could see he's talented, off the jump going all the way (back) to training camp. So for him it was just a matter of getting the opportunity and today was his chance."
Of course, the two do have their difference as well, particularly from a physical tools perspective. Veilleux is the larger of the pair by far, standing at 6-foot-4 compared to McSorley's 6-foot. That showed itself on Saturday in the way of arm strength, as Veilleux overthrew Cam Sullivan-Brown on a deep post with just a flick of a wrist and later had a pair of crossing pattern completions where he showed on his zip.
McSorley, however, has a big more wiggle in the run game. While Veilleux ran away from defenders at times, he doesn't appear to have the ability to make tacklers miss in the open field that McSorley had.
How the freshman develops and whether he even gets the chance to try to imitate McSorley's illustrious career is still yet to be seen, but on first glance, Penn State fans had to like what they saw,
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
• Talk about it inside The Wrestling Room Board