Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
2 8 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T he foundation of Mike Yurcich's conviction isn't complex. Wel- comed to Penn State more than a year ago, the accomplished offensive co- ordinator believes the game's successes and failures are connected to effort. From snap to whistle, for 60 minutes, Yurcich said, relentlessness is something that can overcome many variables. Lack- ing that attacking spirit is a nonstarter. Owning that physicality, with ball secu- rity as a priority, is to gain an advantage. However, the keys to offensive suc- cess in college football do not end there. Seeking to establish a "complementary" approach between the run and pass, Yur- cich has a clear objective in mind against his defensive counterparts. "You have to use deception and keep the defense guessing," he said. "A lot of times, misdirection and play-action, along with tempo, can help you disguise and provide the deception for you. "If you're going to run a grouping of plays, you don't want to run Play A, Play B, Play C, Play D. You want to run Play A, Play A1, Play A2, Play A3, that all are intertwined, making it difficult for the defense. I think as a play-caller and as a coordinator, it's important to quickly diagnose how the defense is defending you to stop an A-list play, quickly get to what counters that, and then anticipate how they will adjust and be able to at- tack the adjustment. That is really, really important." In his debut as the Nittany Lions' play-caller, Yurcich's approach paid in- stant dividends. Described by star re- ceiver Jahan Dotson as a "mastermind" for his game plan in a 16-10 upset win at No. 12 Wisconsin, Yurcich rewarded the buy-in of Penn State's offensive players. "He has an answer for every situation we're in," Dotson said. "He said in the locker room that he's got us, and we had his back. We knew he was going to put us in great situations to make plays, and that's what he did." The sentiment held through Penn State's 5-0 start to the season. Though the Lions were unable to break through for an avalanche of scoring, subsequent wins against No. 22 Auburn (28-20) and a shutout over Indiana set the stage for a No. 3-vs.-No. 4 matchup at Iowa. Penn State raced to a 17-3 lead at Kin- nick Stadium, but Sean Clifford's sec- ond-quarter injury upended the team's offensive trajectory. In the 31 quarters of regulation football that followed, the Nittany Lion offense scored just 136 more points. Averaged out, the offense was putting up just 17.5 points per game. Lowlights were plentiful, but the reality of Penn State's situation was straightforward. Without an effective running game and a quarterback whose performances were affected by his injury, the Nittany Lions could not misdirect, run tempo, disguise, or provide decep- tion through their offensive approach. After the season ended, Yurcich fo- cused on fixing an offense he described as "not good enough," turning his atten- tion to two primary objectives. THE OFFENSE F A S T F A C T S : O F F E N S E Coordinator: Mike Yurcich (2nd season) Starters returning: QB Sean Clifford, RB Keyvone Lee, WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith, WR Parker Washington, TE Brenton Strange, C Juice Scruggs, OT Caedan Wallace Other returnees with starting experience: OT Olu Fashanu, RB Devyn Ford, TE Theo Johnson Starters lost: RB Noah Cain, WR Jahan Dot- son, G Mike Miranda, G Eric Wilson, OT Ra- sheed Walker Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich looks to keep opposing defenses off balance NAT E BAU E R | NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM Attacking Spirit Now in his second season guiding the Penn State offense, Yurcich aims to establish a "complementary" approach between the run and pass. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER