James Franklin 'Comfortable and Confident' Penn State's Offense Will Improve

The Nittany Lions begin spring practice expecting to make 'significant strides' with their run game.

In December, Penn State coach James Franklin said he wanted to conduct an offseason assessment before evaluating Mike Yurcich's first year as offensive coordinator. On Monday, as the program began spring drills, Franklin delivered that assessment.

"Obviously, based on Mike's credentials coming in and how the season played out, I think Mike would be the first one to tell you that he had greater and higher expectations," Franklin said before the Nittany Lions' first practice Monday. "Obviously there were a lot of factors that went into that. But moving forward, I am comfortable and I am confident, and I know he is as well, that we can make significant strides this year."

Penn State has plenty to address this spring, what with bringing in a Manny Diaz as its new defensive coordinator, hiring a new special teams coordinator and introducing players from its sixth-ranked recruiting class to the practice field. But fixing the offense, which labored through a 7-6 season in 2021, headlines the to-do list ahead of the April 24 Blue-White Game.

Penn State ranked 82nd nationally in total offense last season and 90th in scoring offense while struggling through one of its least-productive rushing seasons in program history. The Lions averaged 108 yards rushing per game, the second-lowest total in school history, and better only than the sanction-era average of 101.92 ypg in 2014. They ranked 118th nationally in rushing yards per game and did not produce a 100-yard rushing game for the first time since 1978.

So top of mind this spring for Franklin? The run game.

"We have to get the run game going, and that’s my job as the head coach, to make sure that we do things necessary in the offseason and during spring ball so that it can be," Franklin said. "So [it's] everybody kind of taking responsibility there. I think if we can get the run game going, which we will, that’s going to make us much more explosive in our play-action pass and our RPO game. I also think it's going to help our offensive line and take the pressure off them, as well as our quarterback — that people feel like they have to defend our entire offense."

Quarterback Sean Clifford, returning for his potentially fourth year as the starter, will get reps this spring, though the three freshmen likely will undergo the most evaluation. True freshmen Beau Pribula and Drew Allar join redshirt freshman Christian Veilleux, who started one game last season, in a spring rotation.

"When it comes to the young quarterbacks, that’s always the challenge in spring ball: How do you get everybody to get enough reps to be able to be evaluated and also to be developed?" Franklin said. "It’s not just about the quarterbacks. It’s about, do you have enough depth on the offensive line, do you have enough depth at wide receiver, tight end and so on?

"... But that will be a big focus. We’ll probably go back and forth with those guys. One day [the freshmen will] get reps with the 3s, one day they’ll get reps with the 4s, and will kind of rotate back and forth.

"Then as this thing adjusts, obviously there could be some opportunities to take some reps with the 1s with Veilleux, reps with the 2s snd 3s with Pribula and Allar. We’ll see how that whole thing plays out. But right now that’s been a big emphasis of spring ball: How do we make sure everybody is getting reps and getting evaluated?"

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