Penn State OC Mike Yurcich learning, listening from past experience

This spring, Mike Yurcich made his intentions known to reporters and fans. Meeting with the media following a practice session, the Penn State offensive coordinator insisted he’d done enough reflecting publicly on the 2021 season. Instead, he was ready to limit the scope of his responses to forward-facing topics. 

Again made available for interviews last week, Yurcich offered a perspective that might help explain his reasoning. 

Admittedly disappointed by the production of his offense in his first season at Penn State, the chance to put together an improved performance on the field has Yurcich feeling optimistic.

“It’s just the opportunity that’s at hand. The opportunity that we have to play the greatest game in the world at the greatest university in the world. In front of the best fan base in the world, that’s what excites me,” Yurcich said. “This place is amazing. And we have a lot to prove. To get on the field and lay it on the line and compete with these players. To me, that’s the fun. That’s the juice.”

Reflecting on Penn State’s 2021 performance

That optimism doesn’t mean Yurcich hasn’t spent time examining the 2021 season.

The reality since the end of last season is just the opposite. Digging into the factors that led the Nittany Lions to the nation’s No. 90-ranked scoring offense (25.0 ppg), Yurcich detailed the ways that he’s gone about critiquing himself.

Saying that it’s important to keep contemporaneous notes about the circumstances surrounding each performance in each game, Yurcich noted that success and failure are only understood in context. 

In that vein, the past six months have included a deep dive. With valued perspectives provided from outside the program, Yurcich’s first year at Penn State has been under the microscope.

“We’re trying to peel back everything. I’ve been watching cut-ups for months now, and am still going back and researching and developing and listening to outside sources and other coaches and other staffs, how they do things,” Yurcich said. “(It’s) just a lot of listening, a lot of asking questions, a lot of development and research. 

“So you got to be open to it. You gotta put your ego aside and really try to peel it back and be a good listener as well as a good teacher at times, especially as a coordinator. I like to hear from everybody in the room. We’ve got a really good staff. We’ve got really good assistant football coaches that have been around the game for a long time, we’ve got good analysts that are the same experienced men that are really, really good teachers of the game of football.”

Next steps

And what did Yurcich learn from that feedback? 

Wary of giving away any of the details or insights gleaned, Yurcich said simply that having a deeper understanding of how and why you do what you do offensively is paramount. And, in contemplating suggestions for elements that fit that identity, Yurcich said he’s able to incorporate what he and his players have conviction in. Said Yurcich, “That’s really the crux of what it means to be executing at a very high level.” 

So, able to move forward now, Yurcich said he’s taken a proactive approach to the process.

“It’s a humbling experience being a coordinator here,” he said. “But I think the biggest thing is that you have to sit there and take a look at yourself. Strip it down and start back from scratch, so to speak. Not be afraid to learn and not be afraid to listen. I think those are important qualities that you have to have in any leadership role.”

Eager to implement the best of what he has to offer at Penn State, a place he described as “football heaven,” it’s an opportunity Yurcich will soon embark on again.