STATE COLLEGE – New coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was brought to Penn State three months ago to inject energy into the offense and create more explosive plays.
He also was hired to get the most out of quarterback Drew Allar, a former five-star prospect, and the passing game, which ranked in the bottom half of the country last season.
Allar completed less than half of his passes in losses to Ohio State, Michigan and Ole Miss. Wide receivers rarely looked open all year.
With the Nittany Lions beginning spring practice Tuesday, it will be interesting to watch how Kotelnicki goes about making Allar, the passing game and the offense better.
“Opening the field and making them (defenses) defend the whole 120 yards (length) and the whole 53 and a third (width) is really important,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “I think the play-action pass will be a big part of that with Drew, Andy and our offense.
“There are some things that you can do that we did later in the season (last year after Franklin fired Mike Yurcich as coordinator). There are things you can do with the wide receivers in terms of motion and alignments like stacks and bunches to help our guys versus man coverage. That’s gonna be really important for us.”
Kotelnicki has been described as creative. Under his direction last year, Kansas finished sixth nationally in yards per play (7.16); the Lions were 94th (5.60). The Jayhawks averaged 5.51 yards per carry compared to 4.67 for the Lions and 10.04 yards per pass attempt compared to 6.77 for Penn State.
Kansas was seventh in pass efficiency and the Lions were 56th, even with Allar’s terrific touchdown-interception ratio (25-2).
“For Drew and for all of us, it’s consistency doing it week in and week out against all competition,” Franklin said, “and being able to play how he wants to play and how we want him to play.
“That’s not just Drew. That’s how well we call the game. That’s the complementary pieces around him, the run game, the O-line, the running backs, the tight ends, the receivers making plays for him.”
Penn State has talented running backs in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and very capable tight ends in Tyler Warren and Khalil Dinkins. The offensive line might have lost three starters, but there are plenty of talented veteran and young linemen.
The biggest question remains the wide receivers. KeAndre Lambert-Smith is back after leading the team with 53 catches for 673 yards, but he had just two receptions in the final four games. Tre Wallace has a lot of ability, but he missed five games last season with an injury.
The Lions brought in former Ohio State and Southern Columbia wide receiver Julian Fleming, hoping he would add skills and leadership. So far so good.
“He’s brought an element of experience and maturity that has been really good,” Franklin said. “He’s approached things the right way since he stepped on campus.”
Franklin implied that he hopes Fleming’s presence can motivate the returning wide receivers.
“I didn’t feel like we really needed to go out and do a whole lot in the transfer portal,” he said, “but we needed to make sure we had enough competition at every single position to bring out the best in those guys.
“Julian has helped with that. The younger players in our program have taken the next step and that includes some of the veteran guys.”
Franklin, however, made it clear that Kotelnicki’s playbook at Kansas won’t be the one used at Penn State, for better or worse. That also goes for defensive coordinator Tom Allen, the former Indiana head coach, and special teams coordinator Justin Lustig, who was at Vanderbilt.
“It was almost painful sitting in those rooms (the last couple months) and grinding for hours about doing what is in Penn State’s best interests and in our players’ best interests,” Franklin said, “and not what you were comfortable doing at Indiana, Kansas or Vanderbilt. And not what we were comfortable doing.”
Penn State’s success in the newly expanded Big Ten will largely depend on Allar, though, and how quickly he adapts to the changes in the offense. He has a chance to be the best quarterback in the conference.
“I think he’s ready to take the next step,” Franklin said. “I think he’s excited about some of the things we’re doing. He’s moving better. He looks better. He looks leaner. He’s had a great offseason.”
That’s encouraging, but Lions fans are more concerned about whether Allar has a great season in the fall.
