Evaluating what offseason coordinator changes could mean for Penn State's on-field product under James Franklin
On the latest episode of Andy Staples On3, the namesake was joined by Sean Fitz of Blue White Illustrated.
Speaking with Staples, Fitz explained that while Penn State has a different look at their coordinator spots in 2024, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re changing their overall philosophy as they look to break through and become a top team in the Big Ten under James Franklin.
“You try to replicate that as much as possible. I think that’s what James has, I don’t want to say fallen back into, but you want to recapture that magic,” Fitz said, regarding Penn State’s success with quarterbacks like Trace McSorely in the past. “You’re not doing that with a quarterback that can run right now, and that’s going to be where the adjustment comes. You mentioned getting two quarterbacks on the field. They’re very high on Beau Pribula. But I think really it’s just really the excitement factor.
“The big plays were such a hallmark of the Joe Moorhead era, and they kind of went away under Mike Yurcich, against the right teams. You look at last year at Kansas, they lost at Oklahoma State, but they still scored 32 points. You look back to this Penn State, Ohio State rivalry, and it was 2022 when they played them okay. JTT kind of came over and just did anything he wanted to do, and forced several turnovers, but they scored points in that day, and they actually out coached Ohio State, whatever that’s gonna mean, but they out-coached Ohio State. They put themselves in position, and then they turned the ball over a bunch. But people were okay with that. You know, you’re never okay with an Ohio State and Michigan loss. But people were okay with it, because there was excitement that comes with it.”
While more points doesn’t necessarily mean more wins, Fitz believes that the change in offensive planning will go a long way to restoring some confidence in the Nittany Lions in 2024.
“Points bring excitement. They just haven’t had the points in the in the clutch games,” Fitz added. “I mean, it’s great to go out and you know, beat Rutgers, beat Maryland. Do whatever you have to do. Score a ton of points and everybody has fun that Saturday. But then a couple of weeks later, when you’re going to Columbus, when you’re going to Ann Arbor, when those teams are coming here, it’s just it’s two different football teams.
“Yurcich obviously took obviously took the sword for it, but how much does that fall on Franklin? How much does that fall on, like just your general culture, and your general approach.”
Alas, it remains to be seen if James Franklin did enough this offseason to bring Penn State to where they need to go, but changes were in fact made, and we’ll have to wait and see how it all shakes out.