Penn State Football Offensive Resurgence: Andy Kotelnicki Effect Unveiled

The Nittany Lions were dealing with a first-year starting quarterback in Drew Allar. Still, he wasn’t the reason why the offense struggled.

Last season, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich didn’t make it past the season and was fired after the Michigan game in November.

The offense needed to change and acquire a new identity, and they did that when they hired Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. While Kotelnicki was at Kansas, he helped turn the Jayhawks into one of the better offenses in the country, and the team went 9-4 last season, one of the better years in school history.

Who Will Benefit Most from Andy Kotelnicki in Happy Valley?

One of the players who will be playing for Kotelnicki this season is offensive lineman Nick Dawkins. He was a guest of host Landon Tengwall’s podcast, and Dawkins spoke highly of his new offensive coordinator.

“He has so much respect for how Kotelnicki carries himself,” Dawkins said. “And this is something that we had before, but guys are so bought into the offense right now.”

Penn State’s offensive players are pleased with their new offensive coordinator. Another thing that Dawkins stated that will be music to Nittany Lions fans’ ears is,

“Ever since I’ve been here,” Dawkins said. “We have had an elite defense, a top-five defense, and the offense is always trying to keep up with them in practice and it’s not close, now you see us bringing into the defense and that is something that we were lacking in the past and being explosive and that’s what we needed and that’s where we are at right now.”

That is some fantastic news.

Will Penn State Football Turn it Around on Offense in 2024?

If the offense has been going at the defense in practice, look at how great the defense has been in years past. I know former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is now the new head coach at Duke, but the defense still has some outstanding players, and it will only help the offense more if they keep going at each other every day.

Happy Valley could have a lot brighter days this year on the offensive side of the ball. The offense better be ready to compete because they will have to put up with a new high-flying offense coming into the Big Ten in Oregon and USC.