Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1340947
Mike Yurcich goes way back with Penn State coach James Franklin. How far back? Far enough that Yurcich isn't ex- actly sure just how far back they go. The two coaches both played in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Franklin at East Stroudsburg and Yur- cich at California University of Pennsyl- vania. Their playing days didn't quite overlap, but sometime after they both launched their coaching careers in the 1990s, they started paying attention to each other, and a feeling of mutual ad- miration began to take root. Yurcich watched as Franklin became one of the country's fast-rising young head coaches with his transformation of Vanderbilt into a consistent winner for the first time in years, followed by the sudden turnaround he engineered at previously sanction-ridden Penn State. Franklin, meanwhile, watched as Yur- cich emerged as one of the nation's sharpest offensive minds and an astute developer of quarterback talent. As they got to know each other, they came to realize that they had much more in common than roots in Pennsylvania's Division II football community. "We're like minds," Yurcich said. "We've talked a lot of football and see a lot of things the same way with regard to the philosophy of football and coaching. "From my standpoint, admiring what he's done, his body of work, it's very im- | RED ZONE OFFENSE Yurcich will emphasize red zone productivity at Penn State. The Nittany Lions tied for 107th in the country in red zone success rate last season, scor- ing on only 75.7 percent of their chances. Photo courtesy of Ohio State Athletics F O O T B A L L Yurcich outlines oensive philosophies NEWS & NOTES