Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541276
3 2 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki met with the media on a late-October after- noon to face hard questions about the Nittany Lions' performance this sea- son. PSU fielded one of the nation's bet- ter offenses last year, but it raised some red flags during the 2025 nonconference campaign, and its struggles intensified once the Big Ten season began — a prob- lem that called to mind difficulties that predated Kotelnicki's arrival and played a significant role in the decision to fire head coach James Franklin in mid-October. When asked what happened between last year and this year to bring about such an inexplicable demise, Kotelnicki gave a long answer that circled around the is- sues. However, one of the points he made merits further exploration. "One thing I've learned in this process is, no matter who you have coming back or what your identity is or what you are, it's always going to evolve or change," he said. "It's never going to be the same. And that's week to week, year to year, regard- less of the amount of people you have coming back. "I don't want to say that you're starting from scratch, but you have to approach it that way a little bit. You've got to say to yourself, 'It's going to be different.' You've got to anticipate that." The Nittany Lions' offense has in- deed been different this year, but not in a way that has yielded more yards or points. While PSU has retained the of- fense's foundational elements, some of its tendencies have shifted due to person- nel changes, the most obvious being the graduation of Mackey Award-winning tight end Tyler Warren. These deviations from last year's approach have not been for the better. What Stayed The Same? The core of the Penn State offense is the outside zone rushing system. Ko- telnicki uses it to put stress on opposing defenses laterally with speed and explo- siveness, creating seams for the running and passing games. Kotelnicki's scheme also relies on read-option plays to put the defense in conflict and keep players on the back- side of the run play from attacking the primary run concept at full speed. That extra step gives the offensive line an ad- vantage. When you include shifts and motions at the snap, you can create ex- cellent leverage for the linemen getting to the second level. Last year, the Nittany Lions used the read option on 9.6 percent of their out- side zone runs and averaged 7.5 yards per carry on those snaps. This year, senior quarterback Drew Al- lar took the reins of the offense alone, with no support from backup signal- caller Beau Pribula, who transferred to Missouri in the offseason, or occasional wildcat quarterback Warren, who is now in the NFL. Those players gave the offense an oc- casional boost, and with their depar- ture, Kotelnicki lost one of his biggest weapons. Despite what it looks like because of the mesh point, Penn State has not been running nearly as much read option as it did last season. This year, outside zone with no read option has accounted for 15.4 percent of the snaps — the most of any concept — and there's been a much larger spread between it and the next of- fensive concept than in 2024. Drew Allar had completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,100 yards, with 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, before suffering a season-ending injury in early October. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT EVOLUTIONARY EVOLUTIONARY THEORY THEORY How Andy Kotelnicki's attempt to recreate Penn State's 2024 offense faltered T H O M A S F R A N K CA R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M