Penn State coordinator Mike Yurcich talks Sean Clifford, Drew Allar, the Lions' tight end usage, and more

Penn State coordinator Mike Yurcich met with reporters for the first time since August on Thursday as he prepares for his 20th game as the leader of the Lions offense.

Yurcich covered a bunch of ground during the nearly 20-minute question and answer session two days before Penn State hosts Minnesota at Beaver Stadium. He was asked at one point to assess his performance over his two-and-a-half-year stint as the program’s play caller.

“I think overall, as an offensive coordinator, I think what you have to do is adapt,” Yurcich said. “And I think we’ve done that. And, we have to continue to do that and adapt to our personnel strengths based on game plans, and matchups and all those sorts of things, [and] continue to evolve and find ways to move the football. Be very complimentary. Put the defense in conflict on every single play that you’re running, I think that’s very important.

“I’m not one to evaluate myself. That’s Coach Franklin’s job to do that. I’m just trying to work my tail off, give great effort, and put these players in the best position possible, to be successful.”

Read on to learn more about what Yurcich had to say.

On making Drew Allar the backup quarterback

As noted above, Yurcich has not talked to reporters since Penn State decided to go with former five-star and true freshman Drew Allar as the team’s No. 2 quarterback over veteran Christian Veilleux. Why was that decision made?

“When you make a decision like that, time is of the essence [in preseason camp] and the reps are precious to get the backup prepared properly,” Yurcich said. “You have to make certain decisions and go with what you see, and how things are evolving and productivity and all those things. Drew has come a long way since spring. CV’s done some really good things. Beau’s [Pribula] done some really good things. They’ve all continued to improve.

“So, what we saw [with Allar] was the ability to stretch the field vertically, good vision in the pocket; he’s a tough guy with his big body. He’s very durable in there. You never really know, and then he gets thrown in the Purdue game and he seemed very, very comfortable in that setting. So that gave you a little bit of confidence that he’s able to handle the bright lights of that situation. We’re excited about him, and we’re excited about the entire quarterback room here.”

Evaluating Sean Clifford

A question saw Yurcich asked to evaluate Sean Clifford so far this season.

“Sean has had some great moments throughout the course of the year,” Yurcich said. “The one thing that sticks out most obvious to me is at Purdue, he threw an interception in a critical part of the game, and then comes right back and leads us down to victory in the two-minute drill. And that really epitomizes Sean, his toughness; what he brings to our team, he’s invaluable to everything he does from a leadership standpoint, from a toughness standpoint. He does all the little things that a true freshman quarterback may overlook at times.

“Those are important things for the overall offense to be successful, and for us to be able to adapt and to change and to maybe check a play here or motion a receiver based on coverage and all those sorts of things. He gets that. And, he’s able to coach that to the younger guys. What he’s done for us this year has been great, and we need to see him continue to improve and be more efficient and that’s everything around him as well.”

What are “the little things that a true freshman quarterback may overlook at times”? That was asked later, specific to what Allar may not be doing in that regard.

More: Penn State offensive duality and crisis explained

“I don’t want to misspeak and say that he’s not doing the little things,” Yurcich said, “But there’s some details that you can cover in a meeting that, when you get to the field and the bullets are flying, and it’s in the heat of the moment, being able to make the correct call or whatever it is from an assignment standpoint that we need. There’s also a lot of different things that can happen in a ball game that you didn’t cover. Maybe it was an adjustment by the defense or a look that you didn’t see on tape that you’ll have to be able to recall, and you know, if you play college football for six years, there’s going to be a different amount of recall than someone who doesn’t have that experience.

“You can reflect back on past experiences. Maybe you had to deal with this back in 2019. There was an overload blitz and maybe it was the safety that was tipping it, and the call was ‘peanut butter and jelly’ for that to get the left tackle all the way out. And that peanut butter and jelly call is something that we can get through throughout the game and easily make that adjustment. Those are the things that really help an experienced quarterback have that edge from a competitive standpoint.”

Is Penn State getting enough out of its tight ends

Penn State has long been bullish on its tight ends room. However, production on the stat sheet hasn’t always been a byproduct of that. Yurcich agreed they could be utilized more. But, there are also reasons why they are not.

“We could get to them a little bit more,” Yurcich said. “I think for sure, depending on who you’re playing from week to week, and how they match up. We have a plan every week to get our tight ends touches and need to continue to build on that and make them a big part of this offense. They’re very talented group.”

So what makes getting them the ball more challenging?

More: Penn State vs. Minnesota depth chart: Offense

“The thing about tight end touches, and some of the things that are challenging is, to me, to be an open book to you, is sometimes you’d like to chip tight ends, especially in a drop back pass game, so you can help a tackle out,” Yurcich said. “Well, anytime you’re chipping a tight end. It’s hard for them to be primary receivers. So, they’re typically checked down in that situation. And then furthermore, if you’re running play action pass, a lot of times they’re involved into the run action as well. So to be able to get the tight ends, a lot of times you have to drop back pass, and we’re into that area where play action pass is really important for us. Selling the run. And so, therefore, you’re a little conflicted.

“However, to your point, it is very important to get them the ball. But those are the things that maybe the layperson really doesn’t fully understand that an offensive coordinator; yeah, we want to throw it. We want to also help our offensive line, and yes, we also want to play action pass. And then, you have to find creative ways in order to get those tight ends freed up and make them primary receivers without risking the loss of yardage that happens on a typical drop-back pass. So that’s the challenge. So that’s why I’m losing the hair [laughs].”

What does Yurcich think about the state of the Penn State run game?

Through six games, Penn State is top-50 nationally in rushing offense and top-30 in yards per carry. That is much better than it was a year ago at this point.

“I think the state of the running game, when we look back on it, we’ve really improved ourselves there,” Yurcich said. ” I think yards per carry at this point in the season, we were 117th last year, now we’re top 30 somewhere. So that’s significant improvement. If we can continue to make strides in that area, we’re going to continue to be satisfied with that. And that’s all we can do, is just try to continue to build and try to get better in every facet of the offense. You’re never satisfied. So, we have to continue to build on that.”

He gave the offensive line a shoutout, as well.

“I’m really happy with the way they’re playing,” Yurcich said. “Never satisfied. We need to continue to push, and to get better and in all facets, pass [and] run. But, obviously they’ve made significant strides. I think we’re seeing that. We need to continue to build on that.”

Final word

Yurcich, on Allar’s play in the fourth quarter at Michigan:

“Drew, Michigan game, he had some balls that he needed to throw better. He had a couple of long balls. I thought, that he could have put on the money and give us a chance to be explosive there in the pass game. He knows that. He knew that coming off the field right when it happened. But, he played tough you know. He’s a physical guy that loves to compete. He’s fun to watch.

“I think we were in a particular ballgame when he went in where you’re down and you can’t really help him with staying on schedule and make easy throws. They were pressuring us. We had to throw it, we had to push the ball down the field. And, he went into a really tough situation. He competed his butt off. That’s all we can ask.”