Mike Yurcich shoulders blame for Penn State's rushing struggles during 2021
Penn State struggled to run the ball effectively in 2021, and that is putting things mildly.
During the season, the Nittany Lions averaged 107.8 yards per game rushing and just 3.2 yards per carry. Making matters worse, Penn State did not have a single 100-yard rusher during 2021.
For a program that prides itself on a strong rushing game under James Franklin, it was a particularly disappointing year. In his opening comments for the spring, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich shouldered the blame for that performance.
Yurcich particularly deflected the struggles off of offensive line coach Phil Trautwein while saying fault in the run game rests on Yurcich’s shoulders as the offensive coordinator.
Yurcich defends offensive line coach Phil Trautwein on last year’s struggles.
“Any fault of the run game is a fault of mine because I’m the offensive coordinator.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) March 30, 2022
For a program looking to rebound in 2022, Yurcich said Penn State will coach and execute better this season. Yurcich also said a pair of freshman running backs will bring strong competition to the offense.
Yurcich says the Nittany Lions will execute and coach better this spring and moving forward.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) March 30, 2022
Yurcich on the freshmen running backs backs: “They’re very impressive…They’re doing a hell of a job, and they’re going to raise the competitive level in that room.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) March 30, 2022