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His jersey is being sold in stores now.

His play has been praised across the nation, by pundits and opponents alike.

His football focus was threatened, with adoration mixed with condemnation that led to speculation.

And all this was before Matt McGloin came back home this weekend.

Back to Scranton for the first time as Penn State’s starting quarterback.

McGloin didn’t have to worry about all this attention when he spent his fall Saturdays standing on Penn State’s sideline as a former walk-on and a hardly-used backup.

Then, on a trip to Minnesota during the seventh game of Penn State’s season, McGloin’s whole world changed.

He helped Penn State attain victory that day, stepping in for injured freshman starter Rob Bolden, and has been a huge hit since.

He won his first career start against Michigan. He came off the bench to rally the Lions to Joe Paterno’s 400th career coaching victory in a relief role against Northwestern.

He gave co-Big Ten champion Ohio State a major scare and led the Lions to a major national game, the upcoming New Year’s Day showdown with Florida in the Outback Bowl.

Because of that, some people consider McGloin to be Penn State’s MVP, recognizing him as the guy who turned the Lions’ season around.

In the process, his life turned upside down.

“Obviously, your personal life increases a little bit,” McGloin said. “People know who you are on campus. It has been different over the past year.”

Last year, McGloin was a faceless redshirt freshman who saw very little practice time preparing for the Capital One Bowl because he had even less chance of playing in it.

“Just took a couple reps here or there,” McGloin said. “Daryll (Clark) was starting, Kevin (Newsome) took more reps than I did. I just figured if Daryll got hurt, Kevin would go in.

“It definitely has changed being the starting quarterback.”

It changed him.

McGloin has always had a strong belief in himself, a fiery personality, a never-say-die attitude on every play – going back to his days as a standout quarterback for West Scranton High School.

It’s why a lackluster Penn State offense suddenly snapped to life when McGloin hit the huddle.

“From the time he stepped in the huddle, he just kind of took it over,” Lions leading wide receiver Derek Moye said. “He let everybody know it was his huddle. We needed that. It turned out pretty good for us.”

But when that huddle wasn’t his, McGloin felt uncomfortable being a leader.

“If I’m not starting, I try to let back, let other guys take control,” McGloin said. “You don’t want to step on people’s toes.”

That’s why it was important for Penn State coach Joe Paterno to step up last week and announce McGloin was his starter in the Outback Bowl. That there would be no quarterback competition for the job this month.

“You’re a little more relaxed, you don’t need to be looking over your shoulder,” McGloin said.

Instead, he can set his sights on another big game, even as all eyes start turning to him.