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have four scholarship QBs on its roster in 2021, including third-year starter Sean Clifford. "First, I would like to thank Kirk for his contributions to our program last year," Franklin said in a prepared statement announcing Yurcich's arrival. "This was a difficult decision, but I felt it was best for our program to make a change. We wish him and his family all the best in their future endeavors. "We are excited to have Mike join our staff. He is an impressive offensive mind and talented play caller who has set records everywhere he has been as an offensive coordinator. I look forward to seeing what he can do with all of the of- fensive weapons we have here at Penn State. I have followed Mike's career for a long time, dating back to his time in the PSAC at Shippensburg and Edinboro. We look forward to bringing Mike and his family back to Pennsylvania." Yurcich joins the Nittany Lions after coaching at Texas in 2020, a season in which the Longhorns finished with the nation's 16th-best offensive grade ac- cording to Pro Football Focus. Texas went 7-3 but ranked eighth nationally in scoring average at 42.7 points per game. "I'd like to thank Head Coach James Franklin, Vice President for Intercolle- giate Athletics Sandy Barbour and Presi- dent Eric Barron for the opportunity to be the offensive coordinator at Penn State University," Yurcich said via press release. "Having spent 11 years in the state of Pennsylvania as a player and coach, I understand the significance of this duty and will represent properly and with humble pride." Yurcich played quarterback at Califor- nia University from 1996-98 and began his coaching career at another western Pennsylvania school, joining the staff at St. Francis in 1999. He also made stops at Edinboro and Shippensburg before landing at Oklahoma State in 2013. In his six seasons with the Cowboys, Yurcich served as the team's offensive coordina- tor and quarterbacks coach, helping cre- ate some of the nation's most dynamic offenses. Under his guidance, the Cow- boys averaged 38.0 points and 478.3 yards per game, topping 40 points 35 times and 50 points 15 times. Prior to the 2019 season, Yurcich joined Ryan Day's staff at Ohio State, helping coach the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. They fielded the nation's third- ranked scoring offense that year, an ef- fort spearheaded by Fields. In his first This seems like a good hire, but I'm still surprised by the one-year-and- done for Kirk Ciarrocca. I was kind of looking forward to a year without any coaching changes on the PSU side. I hope we keep the same OC for the next three years or more and have some stability. Johnb212 It appears he went to Ohio State without being given full reins and then le= for Texas without being given full reins. So there is plenty of precedent for him allowing that to happen. Hopefully, he's tired of that and made it a requirement for this move. wbcincy Mason Rudolph, who is the primary QB that he developed, is not known for his running ability. Justin Fields and Sam Ehlinger both were. But Mike Yurcich worked with them for less than a year each. Both were veteran QBs with an already established style, and in both situations the o

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