Penn State Plans a Revival of Its Explosive-Play Offense

The Nittany Lions struggled to hit big plays last season. James Franklin wants to change that.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Nicholas Singleton catches a touchdown pass against Ole Miss sin the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

In the Peach Bowl, Penn State's Nicholas Singleton turned a play-action, cross-field throw from quarterback Beau Pribula into an electrifying 48-yard touchdown. It was a moment the Nittany Lions had chased all season. And though it ultimately change the game's outcome (Ole Miss won 38-25), the play held promise.

What if Penn State's offense could look like this more often, as it had before? A big-play threat, with its best playmakers taking advantage of angles and space and misdirection to baffle a defense and reach the end zone. That was one reason Penn State coach James Franklin hired Andy Kotelnicki as his offensive coordinator.

Even though Kotelnicki didn't call that Peach Bowl play (assistants Ty Howle and Ja'Juan Seider did), it represented the type of offense Franklin wants to operate. Recapture, even, since it included the spirit of Penn State's offenses from 2016-19. Particularly with the running backs.

"In my mind, we have not changed a whole lot in terms of the things that we’ve done here in the past," Franklin said recently. "What I mean is, maybe some aspects of what you saw when we first got here [to Penn State], maybe some aspects you saw with Joe Moorhead, maybe some aspect you saw with coach [Mike Yurcich], we're back to doing all of those things again. Which I think is going to make us difficult to defend when you're using multiple personnel groups, multiple sets, multiple tempos. And I think the running backs have a chance to reap the rewards of that in a lot of different ways."

🏈TOUCHDOWN #PENNSTATE🏈

Quarterback @beauprib hits RB @NickSingletonn for the 48 yard Nittany Lions score!!

👉 https://t.co/LOMmBmRUWM pic.twitter.com/adKQqSqHMG

— Happy Valley Insider (@PennStateRivals) December 30, 2023

Penn State's passing game finished 109th nationally in completions of 20+ yards last season, by far its lowest ranking in Franklin's tenure. The Nittany Lions were as high as fifth and 12th in 2016-17 under Moorhead and fell below 50th just once since 2016. So they're certainly looking for a significant explosive-play upgrade this season.

Further, Franklin, Kotelnicki and Seider all expect the running backs to be part of that. Seider called Singleton and Kaytron Allen the nation's best one-two punch at running back ("People say that I'm biased, but I just think they are," he said) and wants to feed them more, both in the run and pass.

Seider also called Kotenicki "great" at diversifying a gameplan, which will include the running backs.

"There’s not a Mike linebacker in the country that can really cover these guys," Seider said. "So it's just being able to take advantage to get these guys touches in different places of the game."

That concept drives Franklin's offensive view as well. He said that Singleton and Allen will be essential in getting Penn State's offense downfield more often.

"Obviously you know one of the biggest issues we had last year was explosive plays," Franklin said. "I think the most explosive we were [offensively] was in the last two games. So the more we can be explosive, specifically in the passing game, I think it will also create opportunities for us to be more explosive in the run game and also in terms of running back touches."

Kotelnicki spent the last three seasons guiding an explosive-play offense at Kansas. In that period, the Jayhawks ranked 12th nationally in plays of 20+ yards and 10th in pass plays of 15+ yards. Kansas recorded 21 percent of its pass plays at 15+ yards under Kotelnicki.

Ultimately, the offensive coordinator said, going big isn't a complicated pursuit.

"Football in general is about the illusion, right? But really, simplicity typically wins," Kotelnicki said.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.