How a second season under Mike Yurcich impacts Sean Clifford, Penn State offense

At last, Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford feels he can hone in on the details.

Entering his fourth season as the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback, there isn’t much Clifford hasn’t experienced. He is very much the grizzled old head in Penn State’s locker room.

This spring, however, has offered him something new. For the first time as a starter, he’ll have the same offensive coordinator — Mike Yurcich — for two seasons in a row.

“It’s just kind of opened up the playbook for me,” Clifford said this week. “I’ve always had to re-learn an offense or learn a new one. Now being in the same one back-to-back years, it just makes my job a lot easier.”

Before the Outback Bowl, when Clifford announced his intent to return for one more season, the chance for stability within the offense influenced his choice he said.

The terminology is the same — there’s no need to recalibrate his internal glossary. Instead of spending the spring learning the basics from Ricky Rahne, Kirk Ciarrocca or Yurcich, Clifford can attend a more advanced class.

In his words, he’s been able to “master” the offense this spring.

“Consistency is important,” head coach James Franklin said. “We’re going to do everything we possibly can to try to keep as much consistency as we possibly can under the current model of college football, which is challenging. But I think we’ve been able to do some budget things in my last contract to help with that.”

Franklin and Penn State fans everywhere will be hoping that Yurcich’s second act produces improved results.

The Nittany Lions lacked the explosiveness Franklin craves in an offense last season. They finished 73rd nationally in plays over 10 yards.

For the first time since 2015, Penn State finished in the bottom half of the Big Ten in points per game, averaging a mere 25.

Hampered after the halfway point by an injured Clifford, the Nittany Lions leaned on one of the country’s best defenses just to reach the seven-win threshold. Another year into their educational program in Yurcich’s offense, the Nittany Lions harbor optimism that improved results are coming.

“It’s definitely been an advantage to me,” veteran tight end Brenton Strange said. “I see things differently than I would have maybe last spring when we first installed the offense. It’s details that you come across throughout the season and throughout spring ball that maybe we wouldn’t have in the first year. It’s a level of being comfortable also.

“I think everything adds up. Finally having a second spring under an offensive coordinator is a great thing.”

As chaotic as Penn State’s offensive coordinator cycle has been in recent seasons, this is a somewhat new dynamic for Yurcich, too. He spent only one season at his previous two stops at Texas and Ohio State. At Oklahoma State, where Yurcich broke in at the Division I level over six seasons, his offense took an interesting trajectory. It fired out of the gate in year one, posting 39.1 points per game. His second season, that number dipped to 27.6, before rising to 39.5 in 2015.

“It’s a good feeling when you can come back to the same playbook that you’re used to and get right back into the same flow,” wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith said. “Not learning a new offense, we’re moving. We’re not thinking a lot.

“Me, personally, I’m playing a lot faster. I’m just comfortable with the playbook. I know what I’m doing. I know my assignment. I’m pretty sure we all feel like that and it’s just helping us click better as an offense.”