Big questions facing Penn State's coaching staff: Can Mike Yurcich right the ship in year two?
Penn State entered spring practice in 2021 with great expectations for its offense. By the time the season ended, however, fans, players, and coaches alike were left questioning why things went so poorly.
The Nittany Lions start spring practice in less than two weeks on March 21. As the buildup to drills continue, Blue-White Illustrated is picking a coach a day and asking the biggest question he faces before the first on-field work of 2022 starts.
Today, we feature offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
The Yurcich file
Mike Yurcich enters his second set of spring practices at Penn State.
The 46-year-old Euclid, Ohio native joined James Franklin’s staff in 2021 after spending time at Oklahoma State, Ohio State, and Texas. He is widely regarded as one of the sport’s better offensive minds, which is why so many were hopeful that his arrival, almost all by itself, would make Penn State productive on offense.
All told, however, the Lions endd up ranking seventh in the confernece with an average of 376.4 yards per game. Penn State was particularly woeful when trying to run. It finishes second-to-last with an average of 107.8 yards per game and failed to have a single-game 100-yard rusher once. Ranking sixth-worst in the points scoring department, especially against FBS foes, was another dagger Penn State struggled to overcome.
What is the biggest spring question facing Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich?
Penn State has to be better on offense in 2022. In an effort to fix things, can Yurcich get more out of his quarterback?
The big question for fans that probably isn’t much of one for the offensive coordinator is whether a change will be made. Sean Clifford is back for another season, his final one in State College. He enters spring practice as the starter and top option. But, it’s been wondered ever since Clifford announced that he was returning in 2022 if Christian Veilleux, Drew Allar, or Beau Pribula could overtake him.
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Penn State knows what it’s getting with Clifford. There will be some good, some bad, some indefensible play, and some incredible moments along the way. The senior will never give up, is a good leader, and can make plays with his arm and feet. But, accuracy can also be a problem. Turnovers, too.
There is the old saying, of course, that everyone wants to see the backup until the backup has to play. Then, when it doesn’t go well, fans are left yearning for the option they had, even if they were frustrated by it at the time. That’s a pretty good way to sum up where most Penn State fans are with Clifford at this point.
Can Yurcich fix him and fix the offense in the process? Or, will his second season at Penn State feature a new signal caller?
His time to start finding out that answer starts with spring practice. It’s Clifford’s job and his to lose, but that won’t make the outside conversations and curiosities go away. And, the need to have Veilleux or somebody else ready in a backup capacity is crucial after what we saw in 2021.
