It’s competition season according to Penn State coach James Franklin, who made note that there’s still a quarterback competition at Penn State on Big Ten Media Day Wednesday.
There will be a multitude of competitions for positions or so Penn State will say, but this is an offense that returns most of its line and tight ends as well as two workhorse running backs who started most of last season.
Plenty of hype surrounds Penn State’s offense. on the offensive side of the football.
Or does it?
If you talk to offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, any hype or noise is nonsense.
“The goal is every day to get better and don’t worry about the noise,” Yurcich said earlier this summer. “That’s not a part of who we are and what we think about.”
What is the Penn State offense about then?
“It’s all about competition. It’s all about being the best you can be that day and a 1-0 mentality and we have to beat West Virginia,” Yurcich said. “But when the sun comes up tomorrow, we got to be better than we were yesterday and that’s how you do it.”
Competition is healthy and needed. It provides players the opportunity to rise to the occasion, but also show coaches like Yurcich they’re ready when their number is called. Having that competition adds to the quality of depth the Nittany Lions look to have and can pay off largely later in the season.
Players have distinct roles as the season unfolds, but in the meantime it’s all about focusing on the present for Yurcich and company.
“You just try to improve what you can control and you try to get better as much as you possibly can,” Yurcich said. “The focus is on the here and now. Don’t worry about noise and expectations and hype, that’s not what we talk about.”
While there might not be much hype inside the offensive meeting room, there’s plenty of hype leading up to the season for the Nittany Lions outside of Happy Valley. Can Penn State exceed those expectations?
We will find out soon enough.
