Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1201503
to enter the draft. There are a number of highly recruited freshman-eligible players who we haven't really seen yet, and there's always the possibility that the transfer por- tal will yield an addition or two. But Ham- ler's exit, while not unexpected, was a big blow, and the concerns at this position group were magnified earlier this month when receivers coach Gerad Parker left for West Virginia. Under the guidance of interim coordina- tor Tyler Bowen, the Nittany Lions gouged Memphis for 529 yards in a 53-39 Cotton Bowl victory. Included in that yardage total were 396 rushing yards, the most in Penn State's 50-game bowl history. It was a deci- sive performance, highlighted by Journey Brown's 202-yard outburst, but it made for an awkward moment when, three days later, Penn State announced that it was not re- newing offensive line coach Matt Limegrover's contract. Despite the team's success in the season finale, the offensive front had not been a consistent strength the past few years, and Franklin evidently de- cided that a change was needed. But while a certain amount of change is necessary and desireable in any athletic program, there's also a lot to be said for continuity when things are going well. During the Lions' OC search, one of Ciarrocca's most appealing qualities was his will- ingness to adapt his approach to fit what Penn State was already doing rather than imposing his own system and terminology. The idea, Franklin said, is to "take the best of those worlds and blend them together." The Nittany Lions finished second in the Big Ten in scoring offense this past season, so you can understand why they didn't want to rein- vent themselves the way they did when Joe Moorhead took over in 2016. So now comes the hard part: putting all these plans into action. The Lions will have a veteran lineup on offense, but they will also have three new coaches in critical roles. What should we expect to see this coming fall? How is it going to play out? I suppose we could ask Johnny Hindsight, but he probably won't have any answers for a while. ■ PICK-SIX Garrett Taylor sprints toward the end zone after in- tercepting Brady White in the second half of Penn State's Cotton Bowl victory over Memphis. Photo by Steve Manuel F A S T F O R W A R D >> A N E A R L Y L O O K