Depth chart breakdown: What to expect from Penn State football’s offense in 2021

We’ve spent the offseason dissecting Penn State football’s potential depth chart on both sides of the ball. With all 11 starters projected on offense and defense, we’ll now examine how each unit can come together and what they’ll look like as a group.

Let’s start with the team’s 2021 offense under new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich and how it can improve off the disastrous start to the 2020 season.

Rushing offense

There’s little doubt about how strong the Nittany Lions’ rushing attack will be. Between the stable of running backs and the offensive line, they should be able to rack up rushing yards at will more often than not.

The ability to run the ball will start — as it always does — with the team’s ability to create seems for runners to get through. Fortunately for Penn State, its offensive linemen should excel at that this season.

The projected starting offensive line includes, from left to right — Rasheed Walker, Juice Scruggs, Mike Miranda, Eric Wilson and Caedan Wallace.. All five of those linemen have proven they can be positive assets in the running game and 2021 should be no different. The group possesses a good blend of size and strength with the athleticism to pull and create rushing lanes on the outside.

That athleticism will be of added importance this season because of the frequent use of motion in Yurcich’s offenses in the past. He often puts receivers in motion to generate matchup advantages and is not afraid to hand them the ball on jet sweeps when they’re on the move pre-snap. The offensive linemen will need to be able to run horizontally to get into space and block downfield in those situations, but the ability to get players like Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington the ball on the move could be an important dimension of the offense this season.

More frequently, though, they’ll be getting downhill to block for an elite group of running backs that should be one of the best in the conference. Noah Cain should headline the attack this season but having John Lovett, Devyn Ford, Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee behind him gives the Nittany Lions plenty of options in the run game.

They can overwhelm smaller opponents with Cain and Lee, both of whom have the ability to power through tackles and earn tough yardage. They can use big play threats like Lovett, Ford and Holmes who have the speed to get downhill in a hurry and break a big game. And they have the receiving ability of all five backs — although Holmes is the crown jewel from that standpoint — to create big plays out of quick passes.

By the end of the season, the Nittany Lions may not have a single running back who puts up elite numbers. But as a whole, the team’s rushing attack should be the most productive part of its offense in 2021.

Passing offense

Penn State will need Yurcich’s offense and play-calling to have its biggest impact on its passing offense if the NIttany Lions want to be an elite offense this season. Yurcich has created prolific passing offenses that have used a good blend of short throws to open the field and get players in space with a mix of big plays downfield.

The offensive line should not be an issue in the passing game for several reasons. The group is solid against pass rushes thanks to Walker and Wallace on the ends and Wilson and Scruggs should be able to make up for any deficiencies Miranda has as a pass protector. Combine that with the way the offense is expected to utilize quick decisions, predetermined reads and screens and it should bode well for the passing attack to be good as long as the quarterback can make quick and sound decisions.

Of course, that might be a big question mark for Penn State this year. The entirety of the team’s success may depend on redshirt senior Sean Clifford’s ability to manage the game and play mistake-free football, even if it comes at the expense of highlight-worthy plays by the quarterback.

Clifford was much more of a game manager in 2019 than he was in 2020. His footwork and decision-making regressed in 2020 and he became a quarterback who looked unsure of himself on the field. He has the requisite arm talent to be a good Big Ten quarterback, but too often he would create pressure that wasn’t there by running into pass rushers and his own offensive linemen, creating unnecessary mistakes. Quicker decisions should help Clifford return to form, but he’ll also need to make throws accurately to be effective.

Fortunately for the redshirt senior, he has plenty of weapons to get the ball to. His running backs should all excel in the screen game — especially Holmes, who is talented in the open field — and his wide receivers have shown they can get open in any area of the field. Dotson and Washington should be the primary targets when Clifford is throwing the ball because they’re both excellent route runners who can make contested catches when necessary. He should also have Theo Johnson at tight end as large target who can swat away defenders with relative ease. The Nittany Lions’ have the weapons to be elite in the passing game this season.

Outlook

Penn State’s offense should be better under Yurcich in 2021 than it was under Kirk Ciarrocca in 2020, but just how much better will depend on the team’s quarterback play. There are weapons in the running game and passing game that should allow Clifford to excel this season, and he has an offensive line that should be formidable.

The group of running backs is one of the best in the conference, if not the best, and the team has one of the top five wide receivers in the country in Dotson. There will be plays to be made assuming Yurcich puts those players in a position to succeed. There’s no reason to think he won’t, either, because he’s had nothing but success since he was hired as a Division I offensive coordinator nearly a decade ago. The 2019 version of Clifford should lead this team to double-digit wins this year, but if the 2020 version is at the helm — especially the early season one — then things will get interesting quickly on offense for Penn State.

This story was originally published July 27, 2021 at 7:00 AM.

Jon Sauber

Centre Daily Times

(814) 231-6461

Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.