Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545675
A U G U S T 2 0 2 6 47 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / U P O N F U R T H E R R E V I E W / / / / / / / P enn State fans are frustrated with the offensive performance and phi- losophy of the past several seasons. Whether it was Mike Yurcich in 2023 or Andy Kotelnicki for the two seasons that followed, the Nittany Lions' coor- dinators used a tight-end-heavy ap- proach. They had stockpiled talent at the position, so it made sense. However, the results — especially in big games — did not match the expectations of a fan base hungry for a marquee win. As a result of those struggles, fans have understandably soured on the idea of relying to a large degree on heavy personnel. That skepticism, combined with a hyper-focus on the receivers room, has given rise to questions about what kind of offense Penn State should be running. Enter new offensive coordinator Tay- lor Mouser. In many ways, his offense looks suspiciously similar to Kotel- nicki's. Add in the fact that both coor- dinators came to State College from the Big 12, and there is plenty of uncertainty about the new offense. Mouser recently discussed Iowa State's evolution from a spread scheme into a more NFL-centric approach. He noted that Matt Campbell's first offen- sive coordinator, Tom Manning, left to join the Indianapolis Colts' staff before returning to Ames the following year. "That was probably the biggest shift we had offensively — him coming back and being able to do a lot of what that Colts' offense looked like, which we still do a lot today," Mouser explained. That shift centered on heavy for- mations using either two tight ends (12 personnel) or three (13 personnel). Mouser said he likes those packages because "you can dictate the defense a little bit more when you're playing in 12- and 13-personnel sets. To play an unbalanced look, how are they going to play? Are they going to add a nickel? If you're playing with a nickel, then we're running the ball. If they're playing with a defensive alignment in 12 and 13, then we're passing the ball." What makes Mouser's approach dif- ferent is his aggression with the deep ball and explosive passing plays out of heavy formations. Former Penn State tight end Tyler Warren had 18 explosive plays out of 12- and 13-personel sets in 2024. That was the highest single-season total in the na- tion during the past two years. While no Iowa State pass catcher sur- passed Warren's productivity, the Cy- clones did have three players among the top six: receiver Jayden Higgins with 16 explosive plays, and tight end Benjamin Brahmer and receiver Jaylin Noel with 12 apiece. In addition, receivers Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen had 10 and 9, respectively. Brahmer and Sowell, both seniors, and Eskildsen, a junior, have all since transferred to Penn State. As a team, Iowa State generated 91 explosive passing plays for 2,341 yards and 15 touchdowns during the past two seasons when throwing out of 12 and 13 personnel — 21 more catches, 614 more yards, and 3 more touchdowns than second-place Penn State. Perhaps most important, 54 of those receptions were by wide receivers, bring- ing much-needed balance to the forma- tion. Without outside threats, it's too easy to key on the run game and clog the mid- dle of the field where tight ends operate. Defenses facing heavy personnel have three options. They can stay in nickel, which most college defensive coordina- tors tend to favor after 15 years of spread football. They can add a linebacker and play with an extra second-level defender. Or they can go all-in and add a fifth de- fensive lineman. Each choice carries tradeoffs in the coverage they can run on the back end. If you add less-adept players to the secondary, you're ill-equipped to run a diverse set of coverages. Adding a line- backer makes man coverage less viable, and adding a defensive lineman leaves only six players in coverage unless a de- fensive end drops into the scheme — and that player will only play zone. The result is a heavy diet of basic Cover 3, with just three deep players and five underneath, or an all-out blitz leav- ing the secondary in Cover 0 with no safety help. No matter how you slice it, the defense is taking players out of cov- erage. In effect, teams are being forced to play red-zone defense at their own 40-yard line and then getting attacked through the air by explosive receivers. Of course, Mouser will use 11 person- nel (one running back, one tight end) this fall; he deployed that package roughly 30 percent of the time over the past two years. The return of sophomore Koby Howard and the arrival of young players like redshirt freshmen Karon Brookins and Zay Robinson, both of whom came from Iowa State, certainly improves the chances that PSU will have a more reli- able wideout corps than it did last year. Having five trustworthy players across the two-deep at receiver should allow more rotation and more production when Eskildsen and Sowell aren't on the field. So yes — more production from the receivers room is coming. Unlike the previous system, Penn State is now built to fit its talent. ■ PSU's New Offense Will Require Outside Threats Brett Eskildsen was Iowa State's top receiver last season with 526 yards on 30 catches. PHOTO COURTESY IOWA STATE ATHLETICS O P I N I O N THOMAS FRANK CARR T F R A N K .C A R R @ O N 3 .C O M