Takeaways From Penn State's Bowl Media Day
Mike Yurcich called his first season as Penn State's offensive coordinator "not good enough," while head coach James Franklin said he's having ongoing discussions about the Outback Bowl roster as Penn State held its virtual bowl media day Friday.
Here are the top takeaways from the day's Zoom calls. Penn State plays Arkansas on Jan. 1 in the Outback Bowl.
Penn State's bowl roster remains a 'moving target'
Franklin is allowing players to announce their NFL and bowl decisions, so he wouldn't discuss specific players and their availability. One did so Friday: Linebacker Brandon Smith announced that he will skip the bowl game and enter the 2022 NFL Draft.
"There are a lot of conversations going on right now and really have been since the last game at Michigan State," Franklin said. "So we'll see how that plays out. But as you see across college football, this is going on [players opting out of bowls]."
Penn State made 11 players available Friday through Zoom calls, including Clifford, running back Noah Cain, receivers Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, defensive end Jesse Luketa and safety Keaton Ellis. Among those unavailable were receiver Jahan Dotson, safety Jaquan Brisker, defensive end Arnold Ebiketie and linebacker Ellis Brooks.
Clifford announced Dec. 10 that he plans to return in 2022.
"I think there will be a few more of those coming out here soon, hopefully," Franklin said.
Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich grades himself
Penn State ranked 81st nationally in scoring and 118th in rushing, its lowest totals since the sanction seasons. Yurcich accepted responsibility for that.
"Not good enough," Yurcich said of the offense. "A lot of room to improve. We didn't execute at the level that we need to execute at. So I take the blame, solely falls on my shoulders. And we'll get better. I'll get better.
"We're going to work really hard to get us to a championship-level offense. We're not there yet. We're going to continue to strive and drive and do all the things necessary to compete and get to that level, or I'm going to die trying."
Sean Clifford returns with a mission
Yurcich wanted Clifford to return but added, "I wasn't going to recruit him." Ultimately, Clifford based his decision on working with Yurcich for another season and feeling as though he needs to end his career on his terms.
Clifford added that chance to pursue more Name, Image and Likeness deals contributed to his decision as well.
"I wouldn't say necessarily unfinished business, but I think that I definitely want to right the ship and do it the way that I want," Clifford said. "This season, we had a lot of ups and downs. I've seen it all, honestly. I've seen an undefeated team, top-five team, won a New Year's Six bowl, and then also had last year where we were 0-5. So I've kind of seen both sides and been through it all.
"But at the same time, there's a lot of opportunity for growth still, especially with this offense and these guys coming back next year. I think that there's a lot of opportunity for us, and that excites me."
Noah Cain reflects on a difficult season
Running back Noah Cain dealt with some lingering physical issues all season, during which he rushed for 322 yards on 101 carries. It was not the season Cain envisioned in August, when he felt fit and ready coming off his season-ending 2020 injury.
"There's definitely been a lot of challenges, some things I can't control, so I've just been trying to push myself through the best that I can," Cain said. "I've been fighting my tail off to get back to feeling like myself. It hasn't been easy at all, but it's just part of the game. I'm going to build from this, I'm going to keep going and keep growing with the support of the coaching staff and my teammates. They kept my spirits up during the low points, because it wasn't easy at all."
Anthony Poindexter on his hectic two weeks
Anthony Poindexter, Penn State's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame last week, interviewed to be the head coach at Virginia and made recruiting trips for Penn State. Ultimately, he decided to remain with the Lions, saying the time wasn't right with Virginia, his alma mater.
"Things come up," Poindexter said. "I had to explore it because it was my university. But at this time in my career, this is the right place for me to be under the leadership of coach Franklin, and I'm excited to be here."
Poindexter will call Penn State's defense in the Outback Bowl, a role with which he is familiar. Poindexter spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Connecticut. Meanwhile, new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will join the team in Florida as well.
Poindexter said he will adhere to the defensive foundation former coordinator Brent Pry built and ran.
"We have played great defense this year, and coach Pry was an excellent leader," Poindexter said. "So I gathered all the knowledge from him, and our staff has a lot of knowledge of this system, so we're going to just play the defense we've been playing all year. ... I'm not going to go off the rails and turn this into a whole different defense."
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