With Big Ten media days in the rearview mirror and fall camps opening up around the conference, all sights are now set on the start of the 2021 college football season. The Big Ten will officially get things started at the end of the month with Nebraska and Illinois kicking off their seasons against each other. Penn State will start the following week on the road against Wisconsin, and the Nittany Lions are hoping to return to what they believe their form is after a down 2020 season.
Expectations may be high in Happy Valley, and for some legitimately good reasons, but sometimes it is good to gauge the viewpoints of your program from outside the inner circle. Athlon Sports asked Big Ten coaches to speak anonymously about their fellow Big Ten programs recently.
So what did they have to say about the Nittany Lions?
Was 2020 a fluke due to the pandemic?
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“We’ll find out pretty quickly if they’ve used the pandemic year as an excuse for their record, or if things really just got sideways on them. The talent on this team should make them better by default, but even with the amount of distractions last year what you saw on the field was poorly coached football.”
“This is going to be a fascinating team to watch. Franklin is going to try to convince his program everything that went wrong last year can be contained to last year, and I’m not so sure it can be.”
“If it was a culture issue with James [Franklin], James should’ve been able to see that coming before the year.”
Penn State has developed a solid track record with 11-win seasons and victories in New Years Six bowl games under James Franklin. This is why the 2020 season was so surprising to see unfold the way it did. Penn State limped out of the gates of the new season with a program-worst 0-5 start to the season. Franklin has said the 2020 season was painful for everyone, and he is excited to see what happens in 2021.
On the change at offensive coordinator
Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-News via AP
“Kirk’s [Ciarrocca] firing is understandable to some, to other guys it’s pretty rough. You can’t put everything on him, some stats they weren’t that bad, but they had trouble finishing drives.”
“Mike Yurcich seems more like a Franklin guy, he’s really fiery and more hands-on with players.”
Kirk Ciarroca lasted just one season in Happy Valley, and if it were not for a coaching change with the Texas Longhorns, it’s possible he may still be the offensive coordinator for Penn State this season. But Texas made a change at head coach, and thus assistants and coordinators from the Longhorns were suddenly available. Franklin pounced on the opportunity for a possible upgrade with the addition of Mike Yurcich. This is Penn State’s third offensive coordinator in as many years, which could be a problem. Or it could be a boost. Time will tell for sure.
On the offense
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
“They have good running back depth and some nice pieces on offense and I think Mike is a really creative play-caller, so it’s going to come down to how comfortable they are with the quarterback and vice versa.”
“Getting [wide receiver Jahan] Dotson back was absolutely huge for them, that was James recruiting hard.”
Having the offensive coordinator is one thing. Giving him the tools to work with is the other. Penn State appears to have pieces in place for a fun offense, or at least a solidly productive one. Jahan Dotson led the Big Ten in receiving last season (true, he also played more games than just about every receiver too), and Penn State is the only school with three Doak Walker Award watch list players at running back. The big question is whether or not Sean Clifford will be able to be consistently reliable. He had some really rough moments early on last season but finished the season on a stronger note.
What about the defense?
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK
“Defensively they’re more talented this coming year from back to front and they have to replace some guys on the line. Brent [Pry] has been so consistent with those guys, you know what you’re getting there. He’s a great recruiter and they like to let their guys loose to make plays. They’re not going to chess match you, they want to lean on their talent first and impose their will.”
Penn State’s offense gets a lot of the spotlight, but the defense also had some issues to address this offseason. Significant turnover on the defensive line was addressed with the addition of some transfers. The linebackers will remain the same as last year. And the secondary is overflowing with depth right now, so much so that one player is being moved to offense to utilize his skills. It may not be one of Penn State’s best defenses in program history, but it should be fully capable of giving the offense plenty of opportunities to win some key games. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.
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