Just like airing the Whiteout on a terrible streaming service, what’s Old is suddenly New in Andy Kotelnicki’s Offense

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In an offense where the highlight play typically comes in wild, unorthodox fashion – stuff we haven’t seen before — Saturday’s Whiteout game featured several gains for first down that were simply second layers or iterations of base concepts – stuff we HAVE seen before…just slightly tweaked.

What I mean by this: rather than building a game plan around gadget, gimmicky type plays (to be clear: not saying there’s anything wrong with this), Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki focused on peeling back the 2nd layer to the go-to concepts that the Nittany Lions consistently run.

While the plays themselves may not be all that exciting, hopefully getting inside Coach K’s brain is.

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You got questions, we got…the same questions and no answers for Penn State’s four forgettable, unimaginative plays near the goal line with the game hanging in the balance.  

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Why fuss around, right? Just rip off the damn Band-Aid. We’re discussing the failed 4^th quarter goal-to-go sequence that sucked the juice out of a record-setting Beaver Stadium crowd like a poorly aimed straw popping a Capri-Sun pouch.

Hold your nose. Here we go.

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Wildcat is a popular nickname for high school and college athletic teams across the United States. And two months through the second installment of this in-season weekly series, Wildcat has been the most popular topic of discussion.

Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki has whipped out Wildcat so often this season, that the uncommon formation isn’t really a surprise anymore. Especially with your starting QB hurt, it makes sense to make little tweaks within base concepts to create some distortion on the defensive side.

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The Nittany Lions’ dizzying utilization of this fringe Heisman candidate has been tough to track…but we gave it a shot.

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Contrary to the CVS receipt of search engines results that pop up when you enter the phrase ‘Tyler Warren’ and ‘Swiss Army Knife, we’re choosing a different inanimate-object comparison for Penn State’s do-everything tight end because, according to Pennsylvania law, Swiss Army Knives aren’t considered weapons…and, well, Tyler Warren is a damn weapon.

Therefore, to us, the 2024 Mackey Award lock and former high school quarterback (a little known/seldom shared factoid from Warren’s bio) is more like a medevial  Halberd – the most versatile hand-to-hand combat weapon in history according to a Jan. 16, 2011 Escapist Magazine forum post by Brawndo.

Here’s a pic.

Gnarly, huh?

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Continuing a season-long trend, Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki once again went full Willy Wonka with future All-American and Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren last Saturday

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In a football game that was absolutely jam-packed with creative and unorthodox offensive architecture, one play stood out for all viewers as the most aesthetically interesting.

You know the one:

So we’d be fools if we didn’t unpack the schematics and design of Tyler Warren’s touchdown. Time to break down the Center-Eligible-2QB-Double Pass.

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Penn State WR Liam Clifford’s breakout Saturday performance was aided by a  pair of chunk receptions featuring a route concept that’s popular on Sundays.

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An NFL-level QB calls for NFL-level concepts.

Aside from exotic formations, shifts, motions, option schemes and more…it’s important to recognize the portion of the Penn State offense that includes well-executed, sound passing concepts that quarterback 15-Drew Allar thrives in.

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On Saturday, Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki peeled back another layer of his funky onion by placing big faces in strange places.

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If you’ve spent the last 48 hours wondering why Penn State offensive coordinatory Andy Kotelnicki lined up the Nittany Lions’ offensive line every possible way other than the standard way, you’re in the right place.

To spare you another article about 44-Tyler Warren playing QB, we’re gonna spend this time analyzing a couple ways PSU used the OL alignment to create cheap yardage and baffle the defense.

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In case you missed it the 4,024 previous times it has been mentioned, Penn State TE Tyler Warren is a former high school QB…a factoid Nittany Lions OC Andy Kotelnicki took full advantage of in Saturday’s 56-0 smacking of Kent State.

Sponsor: FTB’s 2024 Penn State football coverage is sponsored by the Sports Medicine specialists at Concierge Medical Associates. Schedule an in-person or remote consultation at: conciergemedical.ai

Hey! Would ya look at that! Turns out the educated guess/defrosted take/shake of my Magic 8 Ball I gave during my preseason FTB segment on Keystone Sports Network actually came true – new Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki resuscitated the dormant 2021 Tyler Warren ‘Wildcat’ package!

And, frankly, why wouldn’t he? The wrinkle fits Kotelnicki’s offensive philosophy like a pair of Nike Air Monarchs on a 44-year-old dad. Get you best players the ball, yes, but do it in unorthodox and unexpected ways that cause confusion, hesitation, and, of course, distortion for the defense.

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Andy Kotelnicki’s most-interesting plat design might have occurred on the Nittany Lions first play from scrimmage, launching Penn State TE Tyler Warren toward a school record.

Sponsor: FTB’s 2024 Penn State football coverage is sponsored by the Sports Medicine specialists at Concierge Medical Associates. Schedule an in-person or remote consultation at: conciergemedical.ai

There were a multitude of plays worth writing about from Saturday, partially due to the fact that Bowling Green’s offense kept Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki from shutting off his brain in an unexpectedly competitive start-to-finish contest. Several of those clever concepts concluded with the ball in the sure hands of 44-Tyler Warren…including the Nittany Lions first play from scrimmage – an Unbalanced Arrow RPO.

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Harrison “Trey” Wallace got the glory, but credit a former 5-star who had no targets on Saturday as the reason the first TD of the Kotelnicki Era happened when it did.

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Before you type in the comments section that I’m being hyperbolic when I say witnessing Penn State’s fun, innovative offensive portfolio on Saturday was like a personal spiritual revival, let me remind you of this:

You weren’t assigned to drill and extract interesting X’s and O’s nuggets from the “dry hole” that was Mike Yurcich’s playsheet on a weekly basis last year. I was. And unlike creepy 8-figure CEOs or Buffalo Bills fans, I derive no pleasure from pain.

What can’t be disputed, though, is that offensive explosivity is BACK in Happy Valley. Amongst offensive coordinators making their blue-and-white debuts in the James Franklin era, Andy Kotelnicki’s 7.62 yards per play average vs. West Virginia ranked No. 1 – almost a full yard better than runner-up John Donovan’s per play showing vs. UCF in Ireland a decade ago. So, yeah, it was refreshing to see some chunk plays, daydream of what may be, and irrationally formulate a bunch of feel-good, too-early overreactions from those explosives as a fan.

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