Cool read, but for those non-readers on the board, if Hack and Trace had a child together he would be Sean Clifford from a statistical standpoint lol
How do the analytics take into account Hack didn't have an offensive line. I guess if you just compare their 1st year.
Not to insult the guys playing offensive line for Hack but remember where we were. We are all good at forgetting that period.
Offensive lines make QB's, ask Dan Marino. I heard someone say nobody got to him in Miami because he had such a quick release.
Cool read, but for those non-readers on the board, if Hack and Trace had a child together he would be Sean Clifford from a statistical standpoint lol
Unless there is SOME big secret in Happy Valley that is being kept under lock and key, Clifford starts against Wisconsin. I don't think the comparison between Hack, Trace and Clifford holds too much water....other than Trace was better of the three. I personally can't hold Clifford responsible for the 0-5 start last season. The Lion's just didn't have a strong team from the get go. Thankfully they got 9 games under their belt, were able to get some good playing time/experience for quite a few young players and finished out the year 4-0.
I think Clifford will play well above last seasons level, will be a leader on offense and if this new OC is good as they say, we should see a night and day difference come this September. If you ask me, it all comes down to the coaching this season. I am confident that this years team has enough talent to compete with anyone in the Big 10 and they should be a top 10 team this year.
Franklin, Pry and Yurcich....the whole season hinges on these three guys! Franklin? I need to see him think better on his feet! Pry? I am sticking with him one more season and I surely hope he reads the offenses much better than he has been....and keeps the unnecessary penalties to a minimum. Yurcich? Good grief, if he doesn't look like a hero this season, he needs to find a new profession! He has an experienced QB, one tremendous receiver and plenty of backs that can all keep defenses on their heels. I don't need to see ANY trick plays, just a well oiled machine that can move the ball down the field. He should be able to put up a minimum of 24 points EVERY game. And if Pry does his job, that will be enough to beat Wisconsin and Ohio State on the road! I don't think for a minute that either of these two teams are going to field offenses like they have done the past several years!
GO STATE!
@mtnittanylion All I'm going to say is I think the entire season hinges on how Yucich and Clifford gel and handle the offense.
Those two guys... I really think everything else is going to fall into place. If these two can gel, have a similar vision, and execute it... We will be a very, very, very dangerous team.
I think they'll gel just fine. Just hope Pry & the D hold up their end of the bargain.
IMO the defense wasn't all that bad last year. We were actually ranked pretty highly in total defense, and in the end only one team scored 41 and no one else cracked 40. Of course, I'm not saying that's great, but remember 3 things:
1. There were a lot of young/inexperienced defensive players last year, and they really did seem to get better through the year.
2. The offense was a turnover machine early on. The high point totals in some of those games wasn't necessarily all the defense's fault. The offense didn't help.
3. Yurcich's offense at Ok State in 2018 averaged 45 points a game, his offense at Ohio State in 2019 averaged 42.4 a game, and they averaged 42.7 a game at Texas in 2020. Even if the defense is only average next year, if Yurcich does what he did at his previous 3 stops we will be just fine. That said, I think we're going to be better than average on D.
I hope you're right, Roam. IMO if the D is barely average, Pry needs a change of scenery.
I wanna see the offensive line manhandle some of these d-lines...I wanna see some push...I haven't seen that from a Penn State O-Line in a long time...Until I see that I ain't sold...I wanna see 2nd and 5 and 3rd and 1 all game...Not 2nd and 9 and 3rd and 7...
One last thought...The 3rd and long situations where the secondary gets beat deep which seems to happen at least once a game...
Agreed, FD. I'd also love to see more 3 and outs from our D. Especially stops on 3rd and long!
