How Ja'Juan Seider and Ty Howle Held Penn State's Offense Together
ATLANTA | The day after that bitter loss to Michigan, Penn State's offensive staff and players gathered for their weekly meeting with two new coordinators. Ja'Juan Seider and Ty Howle had worked together for four years. They take pregame jogs together through Beaver Stadium, coordinate personnel changes on gamedays and even live on the same street. As Seider said, "We're basically like twins now."
But that day in November, after the Lions scored 15 points against Michigan and James Franklin fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, Seider and Howle were entrusted with a delicate task: to keep the offense from splintering. Like everything else they do, Seider and Howle approached the moment together.
The assistant coaches (Seider coaches running backs, Howle coaches tight ends) met privately before convening the offense to deliver their message. Which they distilled to this: Don't flinch. And it worked.
"And I think our kids really bought in," Seider said. "They attacked that week like it was a new week, almost to the point that we were rejuvenated. We can’t get those games back. We wish we could. We are where we’re at. ... But they said, 'Let's go play ball and let's finish this out the right way.'"
No. 10 Penn State can do that Saturday against No. 11 Ole Miss in the 54th Peach Bowl, which marks the end of the Seider-Howle fusion as co-offensive coordinators. On Dec. 31 they will return to position coaches, as new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki takes over the offense. Kotelnicki is with the team in Atlanta, watching practice, sitting in meetings and suggesting plays, but Seider and Howle will run the offense one more time. For Penn State, they were in the right place at the right time.
Penn State's 10-2 regular season split along an offensive fault line. The Lions could be exceptional. They won eight games with Yurcich by an average margin of 32.9 points. They scored 31 points against Iowa, the most the Hawkeyes allowed. They dropped 51 at Maryland in Yurcich's last win as coordinator.
But the Lions also scored a combined 27 points in losses to Ohio State and Michigan that ensured they would not make the College Football Playoff in the four-team era. Penn State scored three touchdowns in those games, two in the final 2 minutes of the fourth quarters. Franklin fired a coach during the regular season for the first time. He did so in part because he felt comfortable with Seider and Howle running the offense.
Seider and Howle have worked together for four years, becoming exceptionally close in that time. Howle said that they share similar philosophies about running an offense and calling plays. They see the game with similar lenses. Their shared motto is, "simplicity equals speed," which they made a focus of that November meeting after the loss to Michigan.
"They had a huge role in that [meeting]," tight end Theo Johnson said. "They probably knew the role that they were going to step into and how important it was. And I think coach Howle takes a lot pride in being at this university and coaching for this team and has tremendous pride, so he took it very seriously the role that he was going to have in restoring our offense."
"Restoring" was an interesting word choice, but it fit. Penn State threw for 74 yards against Michigan, failed on a pair of two-point conversions and chaotically looked toward trick plays to jolt the offense. In that meeting, Seider and Howle said they planned to simplify the offense and lean on their best players. They also wanted the players to reset themselves.
"Ultimately the thing we talked about was, it’s about us, and what we’re going to do this week," Howle said. "So I do think it was a good message. But when we left the room it was, 'Hey guys, we’re unified. We’re going to win the rest of our games, we’re going to have fun, we’re going to put you guys in a position to be successful.' And so when we walked out of that meeting we were going to prepare for Rutgers."
The next two weeks, against Rutgers and Michigan State, Penn State's offense began looking sharper and more confident, even as quarterback Drew Allar left the Rutgers game with an injury. Beau Pribula led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, the offense rushed for 234 yards against a pretty good Rutgers defense and then came alive the following week against Michigan State. Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen both topped 100 yards for the first time in the same game. Allar threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns. Singleton also caught two passes for 68 yards.
"The aggression of the offense, it changed, and they way [Howle and Seider] carried it, it changed," Allen said. "... It started with them. Without them, there's no us. It started with them, and everything changed."
"I did notice that," Singleton added. "If you aren’t going to stop the play, we’re going to keep going to it. It’s the mentality we have. They’ve been saying that every time we’re in meetings. You could tell it’s a little different."
For home games, Penn State's assistant coaches normally arrive at Beaver Stadium before the team buses. Inside, the stadium is quiet, but Seider's mind and body are loud. He has adrenaline to burn, so several years ago Seider began jogging the field before the players arrived. When Howle was hired, Seider recruited him to his pregame run. It has become a tradition for the two to circle the field, burn some calories, clear their minds and visualize the game. They'll likely take another trip together Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as co-coordinators before seeking their third straight win in charge of the offense together.
"We’re sitting here beating ourselves up that we’re 10-2," Seider said. "We weren’t 10-2 at that moment [the Lions were 8-2 for that meeting], but we played really good football. And sometimes the narrative boxes you in a corner, makes you forget that you’re a good player or that we’re a good team. You’ve got to remind these guys every day that there’s a lot of pros in this room."
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
