Notebook: After missed year, Nittany Lions appreciative of spring practices
With three practices in the books this spring, Penn State players joined the media for the first time since the conclusion of the Nittany Lions’ 2020 season in December on Monday.
Then, a 4-5 team coming off a Dec. 19 win against Illinois to close the regular season, the Nittany Lions were pleased with how a largely disappointing campaign had concluded. Now undertaking spring practices for the first time since April 2019, the Nittany Lions are a team with new faces motivated by the shortcomings of the 2020 season.
Below are some of the primary takeaways from the media availabilities for kicker Jake Pinegar, center Mike Miranda, and tight end Brenton Strange:
1) Mike Yurcich has made his presence known in the earliest stages of his Penn State tenure.
Arriving in the program this January, the Nittany Lions’ new offensive coordinator hasn’t been timid about his role. Whether in winter conditioning, meetings, or now at the start of spring practices, Yurcich has brought energy and enthusiasm to every element of Penn State’s offense.
“He's a verbal guy,” Miranda said. “He does run around at practice a lot. Whenever we're at team periods, we're doing walkthroughs, you always know where he is on the field. You can always hear his voice, you always know what he's saying, whether it's to the offense, whether it's to the quarterbacks or another position group. His presence is just felt as a coordinator while we're on the field practicing and working.
“His big thing is energy. He brings a lot of energy to practice every day. He brought a lot of energy to all of our winter workouts. He's very detailed. His offense, it's fun to play in. He's just been a boost to all the guys around so far this spring just with his energy overall.”
That energy isn’t limited to Yurcich’s personality, however.
Extending to the type of offense he is seeking to install with the Nittany Lions this season, the foundation has been built primarily on the premise that this group is going to move.
“The thing that I like most about the offense is it's up-tempo,” Strange said. “I don't think a lot of defenses want to just run the whole game, and that's what we do. We're up-tempo, fast, get the defense on its heels, and create explosive plays.”
Coming off a 2020 campaign in which the Nittany Lions finished third in scoring in the Big Ten at 29.8 points per game, but were unable to exceed 27 points more than three times (and were limited to 25, 19, 23, and 21 points in four losses), the groundwork is being laid for an offense confident in its ability to do many different things.
“Tempo is a big thing for him and we do a lot of different things with it. We try to be very versatile with the tempo that we can use as an offense because we think it can be an advantage for us,” Miranda said. “And honestly, most of it is just we think that we can have an advantage in the fourth quarter, and we think that we can wear down a defense over four quarters, playing at the tempo that we do, and we think that we can be in better shape.”
2) Disbanding at the end of winter workouts on March 3, 2020, the Nittany Lions wouldn’t return to campus as a team until late-June due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring.
Having lost those 15 practices, along with so much else, the program has been made keenly aware of the value that this spring’s opportunity presents. And with it, the Nittany Lions are determined to take advantage.
“It's already pretty clear how huge spring practice can be because you kind of lose the perspective of what it can do for some players,” Miranda said. “Especially like the younger guys who get here now, already through three practices that we've had and we've only put pads on once, through those three practices you can see so much growth through them in such a short period. We weren't given this opportunity last year, so it puts it into perspective what this period can do for not just the offensive line, but it has to be everybody on the team.”
Lamenting the “little things” that create the framework from which everything else grows in the game, the reality now is that the program’s focus is on solidifying those elements this spring.
Whether along the offensive line with Miranda, as a blocker and pass-catching tight end for Strange, or in Pinegar’s kicking, the theme was universal Monday that fundamentals are in the driver’s seat for many players within the program this spring.
“We just missed out on the little things last year,” Miranda said. “It’s the little details that matter. I think that's what we aren't going to miss out on this year, and I think that's what's going to make the difference.”
Now, onto the nitty-gritty, scattershot takeaways:
- Pinegar and Jordan Stout could continue to share field goal duties this season.
While Stout took on Penn State’s punting duties last year, finishing with 33 attempts at 41.55 yards per, with three of more than 50 yards, eight inside the 20, and 14 that were fair caught, the pair continued the trend from the 2019 season in which they split the placekicking responsibilities. With Stout knocking down 2 of 5 attempts, including a 1 of 3 mark from 50-plus, and Pinegar hitting 9 of 13, none beyond 40 yards, the set-up for the 2021 campaign could be the same, though Pinegar said he didn’t know what coach Joe Lorig’s plans were yet.
“I continue to kick as many field goals as I can. I know Jordan does the same. He's not kicking 55 yarders and 55 yarders only. He's working around the field at practice and so am I,” Pinegar said. “And I think I've tried to work on longer field goals in the offseason too, just making sure that 45, 50 yards is just as consistent as 30, 35 yards.
“I don't know what they'll set in stone, but I'm just going out there and working on all parts of my kicking game no matter if I'm doing it and I'm starting at it, or if I'm not. I'm just going out there and I'm trying to get all aspects of my game better.”
- Miranda offered some details on the progress being made by a few of his offensive line teammates when asked.
For Juice Scruggs, entering his fourth year in the program despite a severe car accident that derailed his progress following his true freshman year, Miranda holds optimism.
“He might not have gotten a ton of snaps last season, but he played very well last season in the opportunities that he got,” Miranda said. “I know personally, I'm very excited for Juice Scruggs this season. I think he can be an anchor to our offensive line. I do.
“I think with the fundamentals that he could play with and the drive that he has to learn the game more and get better at, I think he can be a really special player.”
Also asked specifically about early enrollee Landon Tengwall and his first months on Penn State’s campus, Miranda indicated that the time has been well-spent.
“The guy's in a good place with where he's at mentally and his head. He is very focused on what he's doing. He doesn't take any opportunities for granted. He's always working extra time in the weight room, extra time at the field and Holuba,” Miranda said. “He has a really good mentality about what he's come here to do and I think that what he's doing to make those things happen has shown that.”
- Still on the offensive side of the ball, Strange also offered a pair of evaluations for players currently in backup roles.
At quarterback, given the departure of Will Levis this season and the lack of an incoming transfer into the program, Ta’Quan Roberson has risen to the default backup role behind Sean Clifford this spring. According to Strange, Roberson has the components necessary to fulfill the role this season and moving forward.
“I think he's a great quarterback,” Strange said. “Good decision maker, very good arm. I think he has everything he needs to be successful.”
Meanwhile, while taking on a more prominent role himself last season in the absence of an injured Pat Freiermuth, along with true freshman Theo Johnson, Strange noted that freshman Tyler Warren continued to make progress behind the scenes.
“Tyler Warren's another great player,” Strange said. “He's been making a lot of plays so far in spring ball this year and I expect a lot of things out of him.”
- On the other side, one more personnel evaluation was provided by Miranda in two of the new faces to the program that he’s seen plenty of in the first week of spring ball.
Asked about Temple transfer end Arnold Ebiketie (nickname: AK) and Duke transfer defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo, Miranda said the experience both players bring to the field is readily apparent.
“Seeing a decent amount of them, they're both really solid players. You can tell they're experienced in playing college football. They're experienced in the speed,” Miranda said. “AK has incredible get off and Derrick, he can sit on a double team, so I already know that playing them after one practice. I know that those guys are gonna be able to bring something to our defensive line, and bring maybe a little more dynamic, so I'm excited to see that.”
- Finally, on the offensive line, Miranda offered some new insight into the ways that coach Phil Trautwein operates his practices within the unit.
“Traut's actually kind of crazy with the rotations. Some guys will work in at all three groups sometimes, the ones, twos, threes. They'll throw guys in with the ones just randomly to see how they'll perform, see how they'll handle the situation. He'll move guys up for a practice, move guys down,” Miranda said. “He just likes to see how guys handle certain situations and stuff like that and how they handle maybe certain adversity, or how they handle a new opportunity for them. So there's a lot of rotating around, but we all know each other well. We can all play together well, so it's not much of an issue at practice.”
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