There will be 11 players on offense, moving as one unit, playing out a barbaric symphony with equal parts precision and brutality.
That’s how Kirk Ciarrocca wants it, and how he sees it developing. At some point in time, anyway.
Penn State’s offensive coordinator is sure of one thing, though: The Nittany Lions better be closer to that level against Indiana on Saturday than they would have been in early September against Kent State.
Ten months after he joined Penn State’s coaching staff, Ciarrocca will make his debut running the offense against the Hoosiers. It will be later than planned, of course. But it also gives the Nittany Lions a more immediate chance to show exactly what type of impact the former Minnesota offensive coordinator brings to the table in his home state.
“That’s the objective, to be clicking and going by the time we hit Indiana,” Ciarrocca said. “Does an offense evolve throughout the season? Yeah, absolutely. You learn a little bit more about your team every single week. But, we don’t have that luxury right now with no nonconference games.”
Ciarrocca promised he’d be intentionally vague when talking about specific changes his offense might show against the Hoosiers from the one Ricky Rahne built before heading to Old Dominion last season, but his outline of expectations hasn’t wavered from his January introduction. He wants a tough, accurate, fast offense, one almost manically focused on the small details every down.
Many of his techniques and strategies were on the minds of players since the spring, when quarterback Sean Clifford said the offense had pretty much been installed. But, the extended lead-in to the season opener after the cancellation and reinstatement of the Big Ten campaign has helped enforce what Ciarrocca believes in, and exactly how much he does.
“When you watch the tape, I think that you see an offense that is very detail-oriented,” Clifford said. “You don’t see a lot of (missed assignments) and when you get to know coach Ciarrocca, you understand why. He’s a guy who’s not going to allow it. If he wants you to run your route at the third inside step, he wants you to run the route at the third inside step, and you do it at the second or fourth, then he’s going to get on your (butt).”
