Early January is usually a time of breath-holding for college football coaches and fans, as they wait to learn whether some of their top players are going to return or leave school early to pursue NFL dreams. This month was no different for Penn State coaches and fans, but resulted mostly in long, satisfied exhales.

Four Nittany Lions who are likely to play significant roles in 2021 — Jahan Dotson, Rasheed Walker, Tariq Castro-Fields, Jaquan Brisker – recently announced their decisions to return, which was not only likely wise for each of those respective players but, in each case, will also make things easier for their other returning teammates during what will be a pivotal year in State College.

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With TCF Sticking Around, Cornerback Isn’t a Position of Need for the Nittany Lions, but the South Carolina Transfer Possesses Traits That Can’t Be Ignored

John(ny) Dixon – I’ve seen fluctuating accounts of what he likes to be called, John or Johnny, so he’ll forever be John(ny) on this blog – is the answer to a question we no longer have to ask.

Who’s going to take over/provide depth when Tariq Castro-Fields leaves for the NFL?

Dixon, the sophomore corner from Tampa, entered the Transfer Portal two days before Christmas – part of the mass exodus of Gamecocks after the 2020 season mercifully ended – and picked Penn State (a program that recruited him out of high school) presumably expecting TCF’s departure would free up an opportunity for immediate playing time. 

But that didn’t happen.

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James Franklin has been recruiting at a high level this winter – not just with players (Penn State currently has the third-ranked Class of 2022 in the country according to the 247Sports Composite) but with his swift and surprising addition of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich.

The recruitment of the latter could play a big role in helping Franklin land an even more important piece of the Nittany Lions’ 2021 puzzle.

It isn’t hard to see why Franklin pounced when Texas parted ways with Yurcich’s former boss, Tom Herman. The 45-year-old Yurcich’s career resume reads a lot like that of Franklin’s; he was a Division II quarterback at California University of Pennsylvania (Franklin played quarterback at another PSAC school, East Stroudsburg) and, like his new boss, earned a degree in psychology. Franklin had coached for nine different college or professional teams before getting his first job as a head coach in 2011; Yurcich, who has never been a head coach, is now at his eighth stop after making his third move since New Year’s Day 2019.

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FTB’s Rapid Reaction/Stream of Consciousness Following Penn State’s Bombshell Friday News Dump

• It’s pronounced YER-sitch…Sitch like situation. Here’s a 2014 video of the guy saying his own name. Hurry up and learn how to say it correctly…because with James Franklin’s newfound Queen of Hearts disposition, who knows how long YER-sitch sticks around Happy Valley.

• I’ll be honest…not a huge fan of the move. Not in the short term…and not in the long term, either, because I don’t think there is a “long term” when it comes to Yurcich. He’ll be a head coach in one, two or three years. The tenures of Joe Moorhead and Ricky Rahne proved the Penn State OC is a King Maker role, as both guys got D1 head coaching jobs after two years at the helm. Ciarrocca wasn’t leaving. He offered stability. But back to the short term. Can Penn State really compete for a Big Ten title in 2021 if it has to install a brand new offense AGAIN? The Year 1 to Year 2 progression in Ciarrocca’s offensive production at Western Michigan and Minnesota was substantial…and progress at PSU was noticeable in the final two games of the season – explosive elements of the offense finally emerged in the Michigan State and Illinois season enders.  

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Thanks Temple for Spending Four Years Developing an Unwanted Recruit Into an All-Conference Pass Rusher…We’ll Take It From Here

We’re Portal People, now.  Embrace it.

While the rest of college football was on IG Live squawking about how they kicked dudes in the face and duct-taping squeeze bottles atop trophy stands, Penn State spent the dying breaths of 2020 putzing around the Transfer Portal – College Football’s Monster.com. And wouldn’t you know, while traversing this strange, foreign place, four players 99.9 percent of us have never seen play one snap of football decided to continue their careers in Happy Valley.

Sweet.

The latest (as of this keystroke) and most intriguing newbie is former Temple Defensive End Arnold Ebiketie, a 2nd Team All-AAC Grad Transfer with two years of eligibility left to finish tapping a deep reservoir of talent/potential. By now, you’ve seen his 2020 stats: 42 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and one defensive touchdown – a gift score that might have been his LEAST impressive highlight all season.

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There is a simple path for Penn State to return to football glory after a weird, wild and abbreviated 2020 season the Nittany Lions and their fans can only hope was an aberration:

Get in the damn end zone. As many times as possible.

If you watched Penn State’s strange and maddening autumn odyssey, from the stunner in Bloomington to the beatdown of Illinois, you saw both dysfunction and gradual improvement from the Nittany Lions in all three phases. You might have heard James Franklin profess one or two or 40 times over the years the importance of “complementary football,” and, yes, a stout defense and at least average special teams play are crucial for any team to have a chance to win at this level.

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As The Usual Suspects Once Again Play For All The Tostitos, We Present an Alternative Postseason Plan and Answer All Naysayers Before They Can Open Their Mouths

Sure, we’ll take a stab at this…

Format: 8 Teams. Single-elimination tournament. The existing College Football Playoff Committee will seed the teams…1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc.  

Who’s In?: Conference Champions from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12. One Group of 5/Independent representative – chosen by the committee. Two At-Large bids – chosen by the committee. At-Large teams CANNOT be seeded higher than No. 5.  

When: Entire college football calendar gets moved back one week. Conference championship games take place the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Playoff quarterfinals begin two weeks later — second Saturday of December. Semis and National Championship remain Jan. 1 and the second Monday of January. 

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Why What Seems Like a Foregone Conclusion Isn’t Necessarily a No-Brainer Decision

General consensus is Penn State Defensive End Jayson Oweh is a goner.

In fact, there’s a high probability that by the time you actually read this Oweh will have Notes App’d his goodbye to Penn State using standard Early Declaration Bingo Card buzz-phrases like “difficult decision”, “after praying on it”, “thank my coaches”, and “Nittany Nation.”

Therefore, we’re not predicting whether or not Oweh WILL take his talents to Sundays and play for a paycheck next September, rather we’re analyzing if he SHOULD. 

A genetic lottery winner blessed with unique length and uncanny speed for a 250-pounder, Oweh entered the abbreviated 2020 season with zero career starts and a ton of questions to answer…namely, are we sure he can play football?

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