Drew Allar opens up about departure of offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich

By Ryan Snyder

It’s been 45 days since Penn State head coach James Franklin made the rare move to fire one of his assistant coaches during the season. Following a lackluster offensive performance against Michigan, which came after an even worse showing at Ohio State a few weeks prior, Franklin announced that offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was no longer part of the staff on Nov. 12.

Assistant coaches Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle shared the role in the final two games, with the offense totaling 69 combined points against Rutgers and Michigan State. Franklin has since hired Andy Kotelnicki to take over the play-calling next season, but both Seider and Howle will call the plays Saturday against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.

Since that change took place, starting quarterback Drew Allar hasn’t opened up much about the topic. That changed on Wednesday when Allar and multiple players met with the media ahead of the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

Below is what Allar had to say about the coaching change, as well as few other topics.

Link: Is Penn State’s passing attack in line for big boose ahead of the Peach Bowl?

Q: What is it about Danny O’Brien that you guys clicked right away?

Drew Allar: I think it’s just his personality. What I like, as a college quarterback, is that he’s been through what the whole room is going through currently. He’s lived that experience and he’s played at the professional level in Canada. He played for like seven or eight years up there.

I think he just brings a lot of value to the room, just because of how much passion he has for coaching and also just learning in general. The offseason is probably the most fun with him. In-season is really fun, too, but in the offseason, we’re breaking down a bunch of NFL tape, learning different concepts, talking through it and how NFL teams read it. Just getting exposure to that level.

In season is always fun, especially on Mondays, our off day. Just coming in early in the morning, getting an early breakdown from him. Then I come back two hours later and he has a full breakdown of the defense, coverage tendencies, blitz tendencies and what the offensive staff is thinking for plays so far. Also, what we have to do as an offense to be successful that week. I think that’s the biggest thing with him. He just has a true passion for football and coaching.

Q: What things went as you expected this season and what was unexpected?

Allar: I don’t really know how to answer that, to be honest. I think, for me personally, I always take it on a day-to-day basis and just judge it off that. I try to just go out and practice as hard as I can because if you practice hard and practice really well, you’re gonna go out and perform. So, I think that’s kind of how I’ve been handling this whole year now. [There’s] definitely been a bunch of learning experiences throughout the year, being a first-year starter.

Watch: Penn State head coach James Franklin discusses the Peach Bowl on Dec. 26

Q: Is there such a thing as a season that went as expected?

Allar: No, I don’t think so. Obviously, as a team, we’re not satisfied with how we performed this year, at least me specifically. But at the end of the day, we had a really good year this year. I mean, 10-2 is not easy to do in the Big 10 and with the schedule we play. Obviously, it wasn’t where we wanted to be, and we’re not satisfied with where we’re at, but we’re not going to say we’re disappointed or we’re mad at what we did this year. We had a lot of great moments throughout the year. There’s just a couple of plays or a couple of things that we would want back and would want to change throughout this year.

Q: When there’s change with the offensive coaching, as the starting quarterback, is it tough to not take some of that personally?

Allar: Yeah, I think that’s kind of what I struggled with the first probably two or three days after it happened. Obviously, Coach Yurcich is a big part of why I’m here. He recruited me throughout high school and obviously I had a ton of fun playing under him for the two years I was here. But at the end of the day, Coach Franklin did what he thought was best for the program and I’m completely aligned with Coach Franklin. He’s a big reason why I came here, too, to learn under Coach Franklin and play under him. So, really, it was just those two or three days. I had to just wash it and move on. I know Coach Yurcich is going to end up on his feet and he’s gonna do good wherever he goes.

Key Takeaways: How are Penn State’s new coordinators adjusting?

Q: Was the meeting after the coaching change the most important meeting of the year?

Allar: Yeah, that was probably the most important meeting of the year for the offense, just because that’s when we could’ve either taken a step back as an offense or we could rebound and come back together. I think we did that. Obviously, we finished the season strong and now we have a great opportunity against a great team and obviously in a great bowl game and environment.

Q: What do you remember after Yurcich was let go? How did you learn about the news?

Allar: From a quarterback perspective, Coach Franklin called us up to his office. It was me and all the quarterbacks, then Danny, Coach Seider and Coach Howle. Obviously, Coach Yurcich was our quarterback coach, so we were the first ones to find out. Then, Coach Franklin broke it to the team. We then had our offensive meeting going into that day.

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Q: That offensive meeting with the entire group, can you share any insight from that?

Allar: Coach Seider and Coach Howle talked and kind of rallied the troops, in a sense. They did a great job of that. There were also a couple of players who talked but I’m gonna keep that one in house.

Q: Theo Johnson told the media that he spoke up in that meeting. Do you remember much of what he had to say? What was his general message?

Allar: He just said, at the end of the day, we could either come together or fall apart. We had to finish the season right, finish the season strong because we have the talent necessary to do whatever we want to do as an offense. We just got to go out and execute what the coaches put out for us to go out and play, and I think we’ve done a great job with that the past two weeks.