Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A Minnesota native, Kotelnicki had been a member of Lance Leipold's staff for 11 years, first with Division III Wis- consin-Whitewater, then Buffalo, and finally at Kansas for the past three sea- sons. During his tenure in Lawrence, the Jayhawks rapidly improved, going from two wins in 2021 to six wins and a Lib- erty Bowl appearance in Year 2, to an 8-4 regular-season finish and a Guaranteed Rate Bowl invitation this season. A potent offensive attack has been one of the primary reasons for Kansas's sud- den rise. During the 2023 regular sea- son, the Jayhawks averaged 434 yards and 33.6 points per game to rank 29th in the FBS in both categories. They were one of only eight teams in the country to average more than 7 yards per play, finishing their 12-game slate with a 7.01- yard average. Led by running back Devin Neal, whose 1,209 yards are tied for fifth in the Big 12, the Jayhawks head into their bowl matchup ranked eighth in the country in rushing (211.3 yards per game) and 67th in passing (222.7 yards per game). Kansas fielded one of the country's better of- fenses even though its starting quarter- back, preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Jalon Daniels, saw action in only three games due to back problems. With Jason Bean and Cole Ballard filling in for Daniels, Kansas has attempted only 23.2 passes per game, 10th-fewest in the country. On a per-pass basis, however, the Jayhawks rank eighth in the FBS with a 9.4-yard average. Kotelnicki takes over a Penn State of- fense that averaged 37.2 points and 391 yards during the just-completed regular season. Both of those averages ranked among the top four in the Big Ten, but the Nittany Lions were far less effective against Ohio State and Michigan than they were versus the other 10 teams on their slate. PSU managed just 240 yards in a 20-12 loss to the Buckeyes in Octo- ber, and it fared little better against the Wolverines, totaling 238 yards in a 24-15 defeat at Beaver Stadium in November. One day after the loss to Michigan, Penn State announced that third-year offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich had been dismissed. Franklin handed the of- fensive coordinator duties for the team's final two regular-season games to run- ning backs coach Ja'Juan Seider and tight ends coach Ty Howle. Following a 42-0 victory over Michigan State on Nov. 24 in which they amassed 586 yards and 23 first downs, Franklin said he felt that in some of their previous games, the Nit- tany Lions had been more preoccupied with hiding their weaknesses than with capitalizing on their strengths. "I think sometimes as coaches you focus on things that guys can't do rather than saying, 'OK, here's something this guy does really well, let's allow him to do that and allow him to have success and build on it,'" Franklin said. "We've got some guys who can do some re- ally good things. We've played to their strengths [in the season's final weeks]. We've focused on the things they can do and used that to build confidence and build for the future." With Kotelnicki's hiring, that future has arrived. Here's a preview of what to expect now that he's set to oversee the Lions' offensive operation. • Get ready to hear about his of- fense being "multiple": Kotelnicki has made it clear throughout his career that he will adapt his scheme to suit the talent on hand and will throw many looks at opposing defenses. "One of the things that I have really learned and subscribed to is the idea of being multiple with the play you run, the formation you run, and the tempo you run," Kotelnicki said during an appear- ance on the "Coach and Coordinator" podcast in 2020 when he and Leipold were still at Buffalo. "That's so impor- tant. Even on a weekly basis, your team changes based off of who you're playing, who's hurt and who's developing. "You can sit here and say you're going to recruit to this system. But at some point, you're going to find yourself in a situation where this system you have has one of your best players sitting on the bench. You need to have the flex- ibility within your system to get your guys on the field, but you can't become a jack of all trades and a master of none. You want to be sophisticated, but not be so over the top that the kids can't line up and do what you're asking them to do." In other words: What you see on tape from his time at other schools may not be exactly what Kotelnicki does at Penn State. He will tailor his scheme to what the Nittany Lions do best. "Those structures that you adhere to, they can never be so rigid that creativity is hindered," he said. • Ball security and efficiency will be key: Franklin and his staff have pri- Under Kotelnicki's guidance, Kansas ranked eighth in the country during the regular season with 24.6 percent of its plays covering 10 or more yards and 9 percent cover- ing 20 or more yards. PHOTO COURTESY KANSAS ATHLETICS