James Franklin says Kirk Ciarrocca has a 'good understanding' of Penn State

When PJ Fleck first got to Minnesota, Kirk Ciarrocca was his offensive coordinator. Together, they did a good job rebuilding the Minnesota program. Then, James Franklin and Penn State came calling. So, Ciarrocca left for the Nittany Lions.

Ultimately, Kirk Ciarrocca only lasted one year with Penn State. That was the 2020 pandemic season and Penn State struggled, losing its first five games. Things didn’t work out and he was fired only to be rehired by PJ Fleck and Minnesota. Now, the two are preparing to play one another.

While speaking to the media, James Franklin was asked about the advantages and disadvantages of facing a former assistant.

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“I think, you know to be honest with you in today’s college football, that’s happening all the time. Michigan had a guy on their staff that had been with us for a number of years. We had an offensive coordinator there, obviously. That’s college football now,” James Franklin said.

“There’s staffs changing and people moving for opportunities. So, that happens more times than not now, to be honest with you.”

James Franklin did admit that Kirk Ciarrocca has an understanding of Penn State. However, Penn State knows him too. So, it’s a two-way street and neither side necessarily gets an advantage from that exchange.

“But, yeah, he’s got a really good understanding of who we are and what we do and how we operate and our personnel and we’ve got a pretty good understanding of what he likes to do offensively. Obviously, [during] his time at West Virginia he picked up a few things as well. But, we’ve got a pretty good idea of who they are as well. So, I think, to a degree, it’s probably an even exchange.”

When Minnesota comes to Happy Valley, the Golden Gophers are going to be greeted by white-out conditions.

James Franklin wants to use the Michigan game to prepare for Minnesota

The Michigan game was a bit of a disaster for Penn State. Still, there is plenty that the Nittany Lions can take away from that game. As James Franklin explained, it actually is helping the team prepare for Minnesota.

“Yeah, I think there’s similarities. And I think we also know this is a copycat business, right? So people are going to watch the film and take some ideas. Minnesota wants to run the ball. They want to constrict kind of the life out of the game in terms of time and possession — all those types of things,” James Franklin said.

“So, we’re going to have to be ready to defend the run and the play-action passes that come off of it for them. And they got a really, really productive back that they do a great job within their system. So, that’ll be a challenge. There’s no doubt about it. We’re going to need to be ready. The corrections that we made on Sunday from the previous game. As well as getting prepared for what Minnesota is going to try to do. Obviously, it’s going to be a big storyline in this game.”