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most any offensive coordinator. One is to generate explosive plays, another is to make the most of every red zone oppor- tunity, and the third is one that will res- onate with everyone who watched Penn State last season: prioritize ball secu- rity. Said Yurcich, "If we can give [our de- fense] a long field every time, never give them a short field, take care of the foot- ball, whether we're kicking a field goal or punting, if we just take care of that football, that's a big part of what we'll do from a philosophy and emphasis standpoint – ball security." Penn State's turnover problems sur- faced early last season. In their opener at Indiana, the Nittany Lions took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Hoosiers rebounded thanks in large part to a pair of first-half interceptions that gave them possession at Penn State's 38- and 4-yard lines. Indiana went on to take a 17-7 halftime lead and won in overtime, 36-35. Against Iowa later in the year, a PSU comeback was scuttled by two late interceptions, and the Maryland and Nebraska games turned on strip-sacks that produced defensive touchdowns for the opposition. Penn State finished its nine-game 2020 season with nine interceptions and eight fumbles lost. The Lions' 17 give- aways put them in a tie for 103rd in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Only 19 teams in the country had more. By contrast, the offense that Yurcich oversaw last season at Texas had only nine turnovers in 10 games – four fum- bles and five interceptions – and fin- ished 24th in the country in giveaways. As for his other priorities, Yurcich said he wants to optimize every scoring op- portunity – another area in which Penn State struggled last season. The Nittany Lions came away with touchdowns on only 19 of their 37 red zone chances last year. Throw in nine field goals, and they Penn State didn't have to go far to find its new tight ends coach. On Feb. 5, the Nittany Lions announced that they had hired Ty Howle as the re- placement for Tyler Bowen, who left a few days earlier to take a position with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. In hir- ing Howle, a former Penn State player who had been serving as an analyst on James Franklin's staff, the Lions have kept the job in the family. "We are excited to have Ty represent his alma mater and serve as our tight ends coach," Franklin said via press re- lease. "I have known Ty since I first started at Penn State when he worked with our recruiting department. Since then, I followed his career and watched him grow into an impressive coach and tremendous leader of young men. "As the son of a high school football coach, Ty's passion for teaching the game is unmatched. In addition, he wears his pride for this university on his chest each day. His contributions as a member of the 2012 team and as a captain in 2013 will long be remem- bered by Penn State fans. He was a great addition to our staff as an offen- sive analyst, and I look forward to watching him thrive in this new role." Howle, a 2009 Penn State signee out of Bunn, N.C., spent five years with the Nittany Lions before embarking on a coaching career. During the 2020 sea- son, he worked as an offensive analyst for the team. "I am excited and honored to be the tight ends coach at my alma mater," Howle said. "I want to thank Coach Franklin for giving me this opportunity to develop the tremendous young men in this program. Penn State University means the world to my family and me. The pride I have for the university, this team, my letterman brothers and the greatest fans in the world is unrivaled. I'm thankful for everyone who helped me get to this point and I'm excited to be home at Penn State." Following his graduation from Penn State, Howle spent two seasons at North Carolina State as a graduate as- sistant in 2014 and '15, earning a mas- ter's degree from the school. He then joined Charlie Fisher's staff at Western Illinois in 2016. In his time with the Fighting Leathernecks, Howle climbed from an offensive line coach to offen- sive recruiting coordinator to assistant head coach and co-offensive coordina- tor for the 2018 season. Along with promoting Howle, Franklin moved wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield into Bowen's role as offensive recruiting coordinator. On defense, cornerbacks coach Terry Smith was named associate head coach. ■ Howle succeeds Bowen as Nittany Lions' tight ends coach | TY HOWLE Penn State Athletics

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