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A former record-setting star from Penn State who used to get Beaver Stadium buzzing will line up at MetLife Stadium and try to help New York win a football game.
				Before they had Saquon Barkley, Nittany Lions fans could count on Matt McGloin to provide some electricity.
				Now, his new team &mdash; and for that matter, new league &mdash; is hoping McGloin still makes magic happen.
				He&rsquo;ll be at quarterback Sunday for the New York Guardians, who play their first game at 2 p.m. against the Tampa Bay Vipers during this weekend&rsquo;s debut of the new XFL.
				He can hardly wait to get started.
				&ldquo;I was a huge fan of the old XFL,&rdquo; McGloin said. &ldquo;I remember playing with the backyard in 2001 with that red and white specialty football. I still have it, I think it&rsquo;s at my parents&rsquo; house.&rdquo;
				That original XFL, connected to the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), featured fewer rules than the NFL, rougher hitting, fake names and sub-par play. It folded after one season.
				This one&rsquo;s more on-par with what NFL fans are accustomed to seeing &mdash; with a few tweaks.
				For instance, extra points won&rsquo;t be kicked, but will be run by offenses and are worth a point from the 2-yard line, two points from the five and three points from the 10. Kickoffs and punts will provide plenty of opportunity for returns. The clock will resume running when the ball is spotted after plays, not when it&rsquo;s snapped.
				And with the league trying to complete each game in under three hours, halftime lasts 10 minutes and the play clock will be set to 25 seconds, not 40, from one play to the next.
				&ldquo;I think, if anything, it presents more opportunities,&rdquo; McGloin said, &ldquo;and more chances to score points. Maybe you change your mindset a little bit, because of the faster play clock &mdash; it forces you to play really fast, you&rsquo;ve got to stay locked in, dialed in, every single play.
				&ldquo;I think the fan experience is going to be incredible.&rdquo;
				But then, McGloin is a master at providing improbable endings.
				He went from a walk-on out of West Scranton High School to a two-year starting quarterback while earning a scholarship at Penn State.
				He rallied Joe Paterno to his record-breaking 409th career coaching victory and led Bill O&rsquo;Brien to his first at Penn State.
				He set Penn State records when he was there, with 46 career touchdown passes, a 130.2 efficiency rating and by throwing for 3,712 yards in 2012.
				Then, as an undersized quarterback at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, McGloin went to the NFL. He was supposed to be more of a project than a prospect, yet McGloin started seven games over four years with the Oakland Raiders and threw for 1,868 yards and 11 touchdowns, but with 11 interceptions before leaving as a free agent after the 2016 season.
				McGloin signed with the Philadelphia Eagles but didn&rsquo;t survive training camp cuts in 2017 and hooked on later that year as a backup for O&rsquo;Brien and the Houston Texans.
				If everything went the way he believes it should have, McGloin would be sporting a Super Bowl ring soon. He was among the final camp cuts of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018 after being told he made the team, but Kansas City made a last-minute decision to replace him with a defensive player.
				&ldquo;For me, it&rsquo;s one of those things where you control what you can control,&rdquo; McGloin sighed.
				He spent last season on the radio as a sideline reporter for Penn State football games.
				He said he learned a few things from that different view of college game days.
				&ldquo;Being able to stand on the sideline and watch the game was nice for me,&rdquo; McGloin said. &ldquo;It made me think about what I would do in this situation, forced me to think in different ways. I kind of feel more refreshed.&rdquo;
				He also feels invigorated. Because if he plays well, the XFL could open a path back to the NFL for McGloin.
				&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going to happen 10 weeks down the road for me,&rdquo; McGloin said. &ldquo;What I&rsquo;m focused on here is playing well week one, winning week one. I want to compete at a high level. I want to play this great game.&rdquo;
				He&rsquo;s in a great spot now.
				Playing in the XFL&rsquo;s largest media market for ex-NFL head coach Kevin Gilbride, McGloin is poised to continue making his name with a big-play game.
				&ldquo;I felt like it&rsquo;d be a great opportunity for me to continue my career,&rdquo; McGloin said. &ldquo;I had a great mini-camp, a great training camp. With a chance to be on national TV every week, you just can&rsquo;t beat that. I&rsquo;m really happy with my decision to play.&rdquo;
				He&rsquo;ll be happier if his Guardians play their way into the XFL playoffs.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a really talented group,&rdquo; McGloin said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got guys who have a lot of talent, guys who really want to work.&rdquo;
				Other than that, McGloin won&rsquo;t say how much impact New York can make in the return of the XFL.
				&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll have to tune in Sunday to find out,&rdquo; McGloin chuckles.
				&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t wait.&rdquo;

Sokoloski: Former PSU star McGloin can’t wait to get into the XFL game