Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
K irk Ciarrocca inherited a pretty good offense when he was hired in December to succeed Old Dominion- bound Ricky Rahne as Penn State's of- fensive coordinator. Last season, the Nittany Lions finished second in the Big Ten and 15th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring offense, averaging 35.8 points per game. Given that success, Ciar- rocca wasn't interested in reinventing the wheel when he arrived in University Park over the winter. That wheel has flattened quite a few opponents ever since PSU returned to national prominence in 2016, and one of James Franklin's priorities during the hiring process was to find someone who wouldn't tamper with ele- ments of the offense that were already working just fine. But Franklin also wanted someone who would bring in some new ideas, and Cia- rrocca has been doing just that in recent months. Fresh off a 2019 season in which he helped Minnesota average 34.1 points per game en route to an 11-2 fin- ish, he has been working to put his own stamp on a Nittany Lion offense that re- turns nine starters from last year's Cot- ton Bowl championship team. Earlier this summer, Ciarrocca talked to BWI's Nate Bauer about a range of topics, from his offensive philosophy to the personnel he will be working with during the upcoming season. Here's what he had to say: GETTING TO THE CORE New PSU coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca emphasizes three key principles as he works to enhance an offense that already ranks as one of the best in the Big Ten >> T H E O F F E N S E NEW IN TOWN Ciarrocca came to PSU from Min- nesota, where he helped the Go- phers average 34.1 points per game last sea- son. Photo cour- tesy of Penn State Athletics