Eight Questions for Penn State Offensive Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki

The Nittany Lions' playcaller discusses Year 2 in the offense, his new co-workers and how Drew Allar has changed since January.

Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki listens to a question from a reporter during an interview in Holuba Hall. / Dan Rainville/USA Today Network - PA / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has played some offseason golf with new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. He also has dug into Knowles' defensive archives, particularly his past few seasons at Ohio State, where he went 3-0 against the Nittany Lions.

"Getting that kind of feedback from somebody who's coached against us is really, really good," Kotelnicki said.

For Kotelnicki, Year 2 of his Penn State offense brings new challenges and opportunities. Quarterback Drew Allar returns for his third year as starter but can't throw 104 completions to Tyler Warren, the nation's top tight end in 2024. Kotelnicki also returns his two top backs in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen while working with their new position coach Stan Drayton.

During a recent media session at Penn State's Lasch Football Building, Kotelnicki covered a variety of topics regarding the Nittany Lions' offense. Here's a recap of that Q&A.

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Question: Where is Drew Allar better than he was in January?

Andy Kotelnicki: He's getting stronger. He looks really lean. I teased him the other day, I said, you can actually see his deltoids and traps a little bit. Of course I say that in jest, but it's true. He knows, going through all those reps and cut-ups, what he wants to improve on and what he wants to do. He has a really good understanding about his capabilities and limitations. And he doesn't have a lot of limitations. I mean, a year ago, people were talking about his mobility, and I think he's proven that he can be mobile. He's only improved that, which is a specific thing to him. But from where he was in January, with what we're doing offensively, how he's playing, how he's gelling with the skill players, it's just so effortless to go out there and talk about the plays and install things. He's like, 'We're good,' so we can just go out there and execute.

Question: How is Allar different physically?

Kotelnicki: Ask him to flex next time you see him. You'll see. He almost caught me. He's almost as good-looking as I am.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar looks to throw during the Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium. / Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Question: What will Year 2 of the offense look like?

Kotelnicki: The reason coach [James] Franklin talks all the time about turnovers and explosives is because those are the two major statistics. If we don't turn the ball over a couple times in those critical games, we win. So those are obvious and they're not very subtle, but those really are the difference. ... I don't know if we're going to go the whole season without turning over the ball, but we want to try. So it's about understanding, it's about the anticipation of the quarterback, it's about the prep and any kind of stress or anxiety going into an install or going into a game plan, all that is gone. There's no, 'What does this look like?' It's not new with all. It's totally rehearsed. They get it, and then they just get a deeper understanding of what we're doing.

Question: What does receiver Trebor Pena bring to Penn State?

Kotelncki: He's got tremendous ball skills. I think he's really quick, he's twitchy, he does a great job with the ball in his hands. That's on film, he's making things happen with it. And I think he's a very mature person. Obviously, he's been in college for a while now and has a lot of good reps. Those kinds of thing are what we're looking for from him.

Question: What has running backs coach Stan Drayton brought to the staff?

Kotelnicki: He's a pro. He's coached football at the highest level, he's coached some unbelievably talented backs, and so he can help. What's awesome is, he has two really good backs [at Penn State]. Those guys getting better looks different than with someone who just showed up here. So he's been able to help push those guys to improve. One percent for Nick Singleton and [Kaytron Allen] are different than one percent for Jabree [Wallace-Coleman], who's going to show up here [this summer]. He's able to explain that to them, he's able to show that to them with his experience. So he's fit right in with what we're doing.

Question: How have quarterbacks Jaxon Smolik and Ethan Grunkemeyer progressed?

Kotelnicki: [They have progressed] well in understanding what we're doing offensively for sure. We've been a 400 graduate level offense since Day 1 of spring football. We're not going to dumb it down, if you will, for guys with maybe less experience. Both Jaxon and Grunk did a really nice job with that. They both had a nice capstone in the spring game with some of the things they were doing. They've picked up right where they left on here in summer football in the development we're having here right now going into fall camp.

Question: How does this coaching staff improve one another?

Kotelnicki: When you have high-capacity individuals in an organization, as long as they collaborate and work together as a team, it makes everybody better. You run into problems on staffs and with players when people get selfish, and we don't have that here. I care about winning. I want our offensive stats to be great, but not at the compromise of winning. So I'm sure Jim feels the same way, and so does [Justin] Lustig about special teams. So when you have high-capacity individuals, high-character guys, and it's about collaborating and winning as a team, you can get a lot done.

Question: How has Jim Knowles critiqued you?

Kotelnicki: There's a lot of things leading up to the game [that they've discussed]. Maybe if there was a tendency or not, what their thoughts of the personnel were. Reinforcing some of the things we do well to keep doing them and add stress on defenses, getting that kind of feedback from somebody who's coached against us is really, really good.

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