Depth chart breakdown: What to expect from Penn State football’s offense in 2020
Over the past month, we’ve taken a look at how Penn State football is shaping up on both sides of the ball with depth chart breakdowns. Now that the lineups are projected on both sides of the ball, we’ll take a look at what the Nittany Lions can do on either side of the field.
Let’s take a look at the Penn State offense — led by new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca — and its chances at improving from the lackluster 2019 season.
Rushing offense
The Nittany Lion rushing attack was stellar last season and has a chance to be even better in 2020.
The offensive line returns three full-time starters and the addition of part-time starter C.J. Thorpe to the starting lineup, leaving one remaining spot. Redshirt junior guard Mike Miranda should occupy the last remaining starting spot but could be overtaken by redshirt freshman guard Caedan Wallace in short order.
If that happens, Penn State would have five linemen they can rely on in the run game. Redshirt seniors Michal Menet and Will Fries provide experience, leadership and consistency at center and right tackle, while redshirt sophomore Rasheed Walker gives the team plenty of upside at left tackle. Those three — combined with Thorpe and Wallace — would be able to pave the way for the Nittany Lion running backs.
Even if they don’t clear massive holes for the backfield, Penn State has plenty of talent in the running back room to find creases and make plays. Redshirt junior Journey Brown leads the way with freakish athleticism that manifests itself in his speed and his strength. He carries the ball with excellent balance and sheds the tacklers that are able to run him down. Brown has a chance to have a huge season and put himself in the conversation as the best back in the country.
Behind Brown are two sophomores that give the Nittany Lions different skill sets. Noah Cain and Devyn Ford are very different backs who can help the offense in different ways. Cain is an old-school power back who rarely goes down after first contact. Ford is a big-play threat who can take any carry to the house, but doesn’t possess the same strength Cain does. But while Cain is better now, Ford is the back with more upside because there are more avenues for him to improve quickly, while Cain would need to improve his long speed to do so.
Those three rushers — along with freshmen Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee — give Ciarrocca plenty of weapons to work with in the run game. He deployed a run-heavy scheme that picked opponents apart with its strength and consistency, ultimately leading to gashes that freed the runners up to make a big play. Redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford is a proven runner as well, but it’s unlikely he runs as much as he did last year, given the structure of Ciarrocca’s offense and his propensity to protect his signal caller.
Still, Penn State’s combination of talent in the backfield, scheme and experience on the offensive line give it the upside to have one of the best rushing attacks in the Big Ten — if not the country.
Passing offense
The Nittany Lions weren’t nearly as good in the passing game last season as they were in the running game and it will be on Ciarrocca and Clifford to rectify those issues.
The team’s biggest struggles came when defenses pressured Clifford and forced him to make decisions quickly. He often panicked in those situations and made matters worse. The quarterback would quickly bail out of the pocket, sometimes running into his own linemen, and attempt throws with misaligned footwork. That led to major accuracy issues any time opponents got pressure on him.
Beyond the issues in difficult situations, Clifford didn’t make it through his progression in a timely manner and was susceptible to giving up on it after his first or second option wasn’t open. Ciarrocca will have his work cut out for him as he tries to fix the redshirt junior’s footwork. Clifford should be more calm after a season at the helm of the offseason.
Improved pass protection could help alleviate some of the issues that arise with Clifford. If teams can’t get to him, he’s less likely to become frantic in the pocket. That’s a reasonable area for the team to improve, especially because Walker has gained more experience at tackle and the team has more stability on the edge, although Fries is susceptible to a strong speed rush.
Clifford doesn’t have much experience on the outside to get the ball too, either, putting more pressure on him to succeed. He’ll be relying on junior tight end Pat Freiermuth as the offense’s best receiving threat and junior wide receiver Jahan Dotson as its best option at wideout. Freiermuth’s usage will be interesting to watch after Ciarrocca rarely used tight ends at his previous stop. Even so, he’s a veteran offensive coordinator who knows how to get his best players the ball. That should mean plenty of Freiermuth targets at Penn State this year.
The Nittany Lions will need a receiver to step up on the outside to free up space for the junior tight end and Dotson, but there are plenty of options to make that happen. Freshman KeAndre Lambert-Smith has the most upside of the bunch, but redshirt sophomore Daniel George and redshirt freshmen T.J. Jones and John Dunmore have had more time on campus to grow as receivers.
With the ongoing pandemic, it might be difficult for Lambert-Smith to make an impact early. Any of those four options could step into the role of No. 2 wide receiver and give the Nittany Lions a big boost on the outside.
Outlook
At the end of the day, Penn State’s overall success will come down to its offensive success, and its offensive success will come down to Ciarrocca’s success. If he doesn’t help Clifford improve as a decision-maker and develop better footwork, it’s going to be another topsy-turvy year on offense for the Nittany Lions. If he succeeds, however, the College Football Playoff becomes a real possibility.
Given Ciarrocca’s success with quarterbacks in the past — and his masterful play-calling and game-planning — the latter seems more likely than the former. The new offensive coordinator could be the addition that finally propels Penn State back into status of the nation’s elite — even if it’s only for a season.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 3:19 PM.
