Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/916653
documenting Moorhead's arrival in late November shows just that. After he walks off the red carpet, past Bully the Bulldog and through throngs of cowbell-ringing fans, Moorhead intro- duces himself to a small group of his new players. "How ya'll doing?" he asks. I cringe. The interaction could not have been more awkward. Imagine that: A yinzer in the heart of Deep South football, greet- ing his players with a y'all. It just wasn't natural. They talk about fit; this wasn't it. Moorhead doesn't have any Power Five head coaching ex- perience and has little experience re- cruiting Mississippi or its neighboring states, and the video didn't suggest this was going to be a seamless meld. That's for Mississippi State, anyhow. At Penn State, the forecast is different. Often, one coach's departure opens a door for the next coach's opportunity. What Moorhead leaves behind at PSU allows for Ricky Rahne to pick up where he left off and now assume his place as James Franklin's offensive coordinator. Not only sharp but personable, Rahne is where he's supposed to be, at the right time. This, too, was a long time coming. Rahne and James Franklin began their coaching careers alongside each other in 2006-07 when they worked for Kansas State. When Franklin got his first head coaching opportunity at Vanderbilt, Rahne was his first quarterbacks coach. After three seasons in Nashville, Rahne followed Franklin, both former college QBs, to Penn State in 2014. He has been biding his time in two different assistant roles since then, and he's the coach who discovered future Nittany Lion quarter- backs Trace McSorley and Tommy Stevens on the recruiting trail when other teams identified them as defensive backs or athletes. A Cornell graduate who paid his dues as an offensive assistant with Bill Sny- der, Rahne has been under the tutelage of some of the sport's best. Working in collaboration with Moorhead the past two seasons, leading one of the more potent attacks in the Big Ten, he has added another layer to his resume. And before leaving for his new head coaching gig, Moorhead imparted the wisdom that will afford Rahne the chance to take the baton from his prede- cessor. Then, watch, he'll make it his own. With Penn State in a recruiting flow and preparing to sign a top-10 class without absorbing one decommitment due to the loss of Moorhead, Rahne has the cards stacked in his favor. In fact, Rahne may be in position to have more immediate success than Moorhead as they embark upon their new jobs. What they mean by fit – I think we're about to see it at PSU. Had Moorhead not worn the hat before Rahne, however, it probably wouldn't sit as comfortably as it does now. Whether he was up in the I like the moves. Promoting Rahne gives stability and continuity, and while I would have "preferred" a guy like Sumlin, Helfrich or Yurich, I didn't think those were realistic options. As far as legitimate options go, Rahne is a good one, and should help to ensure that we don't lose anyone from the class as a result of the moves. Spencer is the "next" coordinator among the group, agreed. I have no idea if Pry has aspirations to be a head coach or not, but at some point if he did leave, Coach Spencer is the one I'd see moving up. Also, I like the idea of bringing in some "outside help" as positional coaches. A good way to ensure new ideas and keep fresh thoughts streaming into the program. berg3438 A few years ago, my nephew was at a PSU camp. One coach who stood out to me was Rahne for his energy, teaching, etc. If he learned from JoeMo, I think we will be pleasantly surprised. Wishing nothing but success. jeffkoz All good moves in my opinion. Let's see what Rahne does in the bowl game before we all FREAK OUT!! mbar21 This is a great opportunity or Rahne. If our offense continues to flourish, he could be looking a head coaching gig in a few years. It won't hurt that Trace will be here to run his offense his first year. One of his first jobs now will be to convince Tommy Stevens to stay. I like that Matt Limegrover is given the title of run game coordinator. Maybe it's just window dressing, but if he does have influence, we might see a few tweaks in our run game. Offensive linemen like to fire out once in a while, and Moorhead's RPO didn't give them that chance very often. I'm sure we'll be running JoMo's basic offense, but I expect a few changes that will hopefully address our issues playing with a fourth-quarter lead. I'm guessing Franklin didn't have to twist many arms. Penn State has be- come a destination for ambitious young coaches. jack66 Everyone is a little nervous just because Moorhead has that "knack" for call- ing the right play. I think Rahne will be fine, and I think Bowen is absolutely a smart hire. Another guy who coached the Moorhead offense for two years. Makes perfect sense to me. Samurailion As I remember, most were not jumping for joy when Moorhead was hired two years ago. There is less room for statistical improvement than there was then, but I think most will be ecstatic if we can have a better short-yardage game while keeping our explosiveness. Nationalchamps1 S I T E L I N E S B W I . R I V A L S . C O M R E A D E R S S O U N D O F F