Penn State Football: 5 questions Nittany Lions must answer this spring

2. Will this be Mike Yurcich’s offense, or will Franklin still meddle in the play calling?

Penn State Football made one of the more bold and surprising moves of the college football offseason when they announced Mike Yurcich was in as the offensive coordinator, and Kirk Ciarrocca was out after just one season.

Yurcich comes to Happy Valley after spending six seasons as the OC at Oklahoma State, one season at Ohio State as the passing game coordinator and last season was the OC at Texas.

Franklin told the media he and Yurcich have stayed in contact for years, so it makes sense that once he was able to land him, he wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass him by. Yurcich will bring a more spread, fast-paced, air raid attack to the Nittany Lions offense.

However, as we saw last season, some of that offense was Kirk Ciarrocca but parts of it definitely had Franklin’s DNA all over it, particularly the quarterback runs. If Yurcich really is the white whale Franklin has been chasing, and he finally got the guy who is the right “philosophical fit,” he should let him have total control over the offense and play calling duties.

Last season at Texas, it is rumored head coach Tom Herman had a major influence on the offense and play calling, and similarly at Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy almost certainly had a lot of input. It will be interesting to see if Yurcich is allowed free reign, because fans are hoping he can work his magic with whoever is under center for Penn State Football, and deliver an offense that is explosive and consistent enough to get them to the College Football Playoff.