Power football to return Penn State Football: Takeaways from Mike Yurcich
Penn State Football offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich met with the media for the first time earlier today and gave some insight into what he will be bringing to Happy Valley.
Coach James Franklin has been aggressive this offseason and shown a sense of urgency we have not seen before during his time in State College after a disappointing 4-5 season.
Part of that aggressiveness led Franklin to replacing offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca after just one season with Penn State Football, to land his white whale, the guy he’s admittedly been chasing for years, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
Yurcich will join the Nittany Lions after spending a year each with Texas and Ohio State on the heels of six seasons with Oklahoma State as the offensive coordinator under head coach Mike Gundy.
Coach Franklin cited ‘offensive philosophy’ as a reason for bringing Yurcich aboard, and getting back to the spread attack Penn State Football featured in the past and had success with when Joe Moorhead was calling plays.
Yurcich met with the media Tuesday for the first time, here are three key takeaways:
Yurcich will bring clear cut offensive philosophy, but it will be Penn State’s offense
New offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich fielded a lot of questions about his offense, and what his offense will look like in 2021 and beyond in Happy Valley.
However, he was quick to put a stop to that notion, and make sure those inquiring knew this would be a Penn State Football offense, not a mike Yurcich offense.
"“You can’t fit a square peg in a round hole,” Yurcich said. “Your system has to be adaptable to your talent level, it’s about the players.”"
Three traits; physical, smart and skilled, he said would be what to expect out of the Nittany Lions next fall.
Winning up front and putting speed on the field is how you win games at this level, and needing a quarterback who can get the ball out to his playmakers, and get the ball out accurately, Yurcich explained.
The former Oklahoma State play caller is going to bring a spread, air-raid attack and expect the offense to move quickly and with tempo, but Yurcich warned of how tempo can work against you as well.
"“Tempo really helps us as an offense,but tempo can hurt you if you are not careful” Yurcich said."
He was asked in what ways tempo can help Penn State Football’s offense, and he said it is used to “exhaust and eliminate communication” of the defense.
When going fast, it makes it tough for the defense to substitute or make defensive calls, and then ultimately tires them out. Look for a lot of hands-on-hips out of opposing defenses next fall as the Nittany Lions look to push the tempo.
That will be a noticeable difference from this past season in Kirk Ciarrocca’s offense where the offense seemed to be looking over to the sidelines for calls and letting the defense rest for 20-30 seconds in between each play.