SCRANTON — Penn State’s starting quarterback and West Scranton native Matt McGloin has made his community proud.
Lackawanna County commissioners made it official on the very football field where he made his mark before heading off to be a Nittany Lion, Memorial Stadium.
“Just to come out here is truly an honor. To be recognized for your accomplishments on and off the field by Lackawanna County is definitely something you don`t get to experience too often, so this is definitely a day that is going to be remembered for a very long time,” said McGloin.
“I think that he`s a great aspiration for any athlete in our County, or in our country, for what he accomplished, for what he`s endured and where he is now,” said Lackawanna County Commissioner Patrick O’Malley.
A standout for the West Scranton Invaders, McGloin walked on to the Nittany Lion team, battling for a scholarship and the starting quarterback job.
Now, he’s leading the team through the worst scandal in school history.
“The way I was raised, the way I grew up, I was always told to stay loyal to something and fight with it to the end and the way Coach O’Brien has been fighting for us, and the staff has been fighting for us, it’s hard to walk away from a place like that and I don’t think I would ever be able to do it. I kind of want to finish what I started there and I know a lot of the guys on the team kind of want to do the same thing so I’m just going to try to do my best to be a leader for that team and try to make things right with the Penn State community,” McGloin added.
All that he’s accomplished comes as no surprise to his former high school coach.
“I don`t think they could have a better person in a leadership role as a quarterback for Penn State through this situation that`s going on down there than Matt McGloin. I always know, I coached him for three years, the bigger the game, the bigger the pressure, the more he came through,” said Michael DeAntona, Matt’s former coach.
Many said Matt is an inspiration to other student-athletes.
“”First and foremost, I’m proud that I have a degree before the start of my fifth season. I think that’s something that kids should focus on first and recognize that it’s important to get your degree, especially from a great university like Penn State. Secondly, I think it’s important that kids do what they want to do. I wanted to play for Penn State, so scholarship or not, I went to Penn State and played. I think that’s important, to follow your dreams,” McGloin said.
Matt’s family says he does not really like the limelight, but they could not be prouder.
“It`s a great day. Many a weekend, we sat here watching Matt play on this field and didn`t know what the future would hold and to be where we`re at at this point is just hard for me to believe even now,” said Paul McGloin, Matt’s father.
“The support here is tremendous and I couldn`t have a better family. I couldn`t have better coaches, couldn`t have better friends, so I`m definitely very proud of the position I`m in and I`m definitely proud of where I came from,” said McGloin.
McGloin will again have a chance to do his community proud as Penn State kicks off the 2012 season September 1 versus Ohio.
