The Kirk Ciarrocca Experience

 Soooo…What The Heck Is It?!?!? A Deep Dive Into The New Offensive Coordinator’s Trends and Tendencies During Minnesota’s Magical 2019 Season Provides Some Answers But Also More Questions

We are Pavlov’s Dog.

And Kirk Ciarrocca is our bell.

Thanks to the transformative hire of Joe Moorhead – and the sometimes-maddening Running-Up-The-Down-Escalator feel of internally-promoted Ricky Rahne’s tenure — we’ve been conditioned to salivate when an outsider is brought in to call plays.

Go ahead, waste a bit of your workday, and shuffle through the comment sections and message board ramblings when news broke of Ciarrocca’s hire as Penn State offensive coordinator in mid-December. Try and find a negative, or even room-temperature reaction. You can’t.

It’s all Good Hire and Jack Nicholson-Nodding-Yes GIFs

But why?

Well, there’s the obvious: Minnesota beat Penn State with (let’s face it) inferior offensive talent last November. In that game, Penn State’s defense yielded a then-season worst 460 yards to Ciarrocca’s Boat Rowers and allowed Gophers QB Tanner Morgan to average an insane 17.0 yards/pass attempt. Minnesota threw two incompletions the whole game. TWO.

But beyond that ruined afternoon, the main source of optimism sprouts from the fact Ciarrocca is an outside hire. The Penn State fan base – whether rightly or wrongly – seems to perceive promoting from within as “settling” and something beneath an elite program. Rahne is certainly an example of that bias. For as much as we all bitched and moaned, Penn State finished 2^nd in the Big Ten in Scoring Offense in 2019, and 3^rd in 2018. And though he’s been mentioned recently as a top candidate for several Group of 5 head coaching jobs, remember Brent Pry’s elevation to defensive coordinator in 2016 was also met with plenty of contention.

Put a Penn Stater on Let’s Make A Deal, and he or she is ALWAYS taking what’s in the box or behind the curtain. That’s our nature. Screw the suitable and relatively successful status quo. GIVE US THE DAMN BOX, MONTY!

Well, here’s the box.  Let’s take a look back at Kirk Ciarrocca’s offense from 2019 (we scouted the South Dakota State opener, the Penn State game, and the Wisconsin finale) and show Nittany Nation what they’ve won!

THE OFFENSE IS SHOTGUN EXCLUSIVE

Sorry, but those thirsting for under-center quarterback sneaks are going to remain parched. Minnesota ran EVERYTHING out of the shotgun formation in the three games we scouted – including short-yardage situations.

In a segment produced by Penn State’s multimedia team around Jan. 1 Ciarrocca hinted at the possibility of some under-center packages, but we don’t buy it. If he didn’t have any under-center PUSH plays behind an offensive line that AVERAGED 340 pounds at Minnesota, why is he going to do so when Penn State’s heaviest starter is a svelte 328 pounds?

Sidebar: For those curious, Sean Clifford did occasionally run plays under center while in high school. So that shouldn’t be an excuse NOT to do it.

 

LOTS OF TE WING

29 out of 63 offensive plays run against Penn State featured a TE Wing Modifier.

21 out of 57 offensive plays run against South Dakota State featured a TE Wing Modifier

Ciarrocca’s reliance on keeping tight ends close to/within the tackle box last season at Minnesota completely clashes with Rahne’s tendency to flex Pat Freirmuth (and Nick Bowers) all over the field. Baby Gronk was a blue-and-white Waldo last season. Here is a sampling of his various starting points in just the initial 8 plays of the game vs. Michigan last year.

via GIPHY

ALL SCREENS ARE WR SCREENS

Much like Joe Moorhead and Ricky Rahne’s offense, Kirk Ciarrocca’s offense doesn’t mess with any traditional RB screen passes. In fact, Minnesota running backs were basically non-existent in the pass game altogether. Minnesota has a basic bubble concept that’s often the P(ass) O(ption) in RPO calls.

The Gophers also featured a “slip screen” in each of the three games we scouted – the most effective occurring against Penn State. The tight end is the “tell” this play is coming. Against Penn State and Wisconsin, the only time the tight end ran more than 5 yards downfield on pass plays was when this screen was called – MORE ON THIS TREND LATER.

On this play, you can tell the tight end isn’t asked to block downfield often as he looks rather clunky and uncomfortable in space, but he gets juust enough of Cam Brown to knock him off balance. TCF misses a routine open-field tackle. Nightmare in full effect.

via GIPHY

RPO PHILOSOPHY: SLANTS ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

According to our count, Minnesota called 17 designed RPO plays against Penn State. Of those RPO calls in which Tanner Morgan threw the football, the quarterback’s first read was usually some variation of a slant pattern. Minnesota would, on occasion, make a five-yard hitch Morgan’s first read – but mostly it was Death By Slant.

The RPO pass patterns Minnesota featured last season weren’t vastly different than the ones Penn State used. Heck, Penn State’s first snap of the game against Minnesota was an RPO slant that Justin Shorter dropped. Unlike Minnesota, though, Penn State’s best RPO route was this tight end seam – something Minnesota didn’t have in its playbook.

The biggest difference in Rahne and Ciarrocca’s RPO philosophy is the area in which it’s used. For the most part, Rahne dialed up RPO plays when Penn State was in the “extended Red Zone” (basically inside the opponent’s 25). Minnesota didn’t discriminate. Ciarrocca called two straight RPOs to start the Penn State game, even though the drive began inside its own 10.

PROTECTION > PLAYMAKERS

Just because you’re big doesn’t mean you can block. The 2019 Minnesota offensive line proved that a bunch in the season opener. Against South Dakota State – an eventual five-loss FCS team that finished tied for third in the Missouri Valley Conference – the beefy Gophers front looked awful when left to pass block without additional help. See:

Four-man rush by SDSU. Tanner should have time…but nope. For some reason, the right guard doesn’t pass protect and explodes forward out of his stance. This allows the (how do we put this nicely?) SPARQ-deficient DT to waddle toward Morgan while the stunting DE knocks the right guard on his ass – thus blowing up the whole play.

SDSU shows blitz but bails. Four-man rush. Right tackle is the only player who “wins” this play. Otherwise, total breakdown. Center doesn’t block anyone. Right guard gets beat. Left guard gets pushed back into Morgan. Not good.

To Ciarrocca’s credit, he recognized the problem. By November, Ciarrocca simplified the passing game – scaling way back on 3-wide and 4-wide sets, choosing instead to keep backs and tight ends in to block — in order to keep Morgan clean. Against Penn State, Ciarrocca only left his five linemen on their own twice – and both of those passes were quick one-read bubbles to the sideline. A few times, he had 8 guys blocking! Look at this wall of corn-fed humanity in front of Morgan!

BTW, Minnesota – despite have just two receivers running routes – scored on this play.

DELIBERATE TEMPO = DISSECTION

Like Moorhead and Rahne, Ciarrocca’s offense isn’t fast. In 2019, Minnesota finished 70^th among FBS schools in Offensive Plays Per Game.

Instead, Ciarrocca’s tempo is deliberate. Line up quick. Force the defense show its hand with enough time remaining on the play clock to counter with a more advantageous call. THIS MIGHT BE CIARROCCA’S GREATEST STRENGHTH AS A COORDINATOR. Case and point: Minnesota’s first TD vs. Penn State.

Lamont Wade creeps up and shows press – a rarity in Pry’s defense – right when he expects the ball to be snapped. Morgan backs out and looks toward the sideline. This pause is crucial. Ciarrocca knows Pry’s hand! Safety blitz! It’s unclear whether Ciarrocca changed the play, but what’s obvious is that Morgan was told to shift protection to the right to pick up the extra rusher(s). The shift swallows up the blitzing Cam Brown, while Minnesota’s RB “wins” against Wade. Tough ask for Taylor to make this play coming all the way from the opposite hash. Another 8-man protection, two-route touchdown.

BIG GAME ADJUSTMENTS/SURPRISES

My biggest criticism of Ricky Rahne was his unwillingness to TRY things in big games. Going into Ohio State last season as two-touchdown-plus underdogs, I fully expected to see some wrinkles, some trick plays, and some odd formations not seen on tape. And we got none of that. Instead, Rahne played Ohio State straight up. And we lost.

Ciarrocca, on the other hand, has shown he’s willing to flip the script.

With an extra week to prepare for Penn State last season, Ciarrocca opened the game in a 6 OL Heavy Package – a look Minnesota hadn’t used all season, and wouldn’t use again for the rest of the season. It was a Penn State-specific wrinkle! And, damn it, it worked!

Minnesota used 6 offensive linemen in 33 percent of its plays. Minnesota had 9 plays of 20+ yards the whole game. Five of those chunk plays (56 percent) sprung from the HEAVY Package, including touchdown passes of 66 and 37 yards. On those two plays – the two largest plays of the game for the Gophers –Minnesota only sent two receivers out on routes while eight players blocked and bought time for Morgan.

Eventually, Penn State adjusted. In the second half, Penn State recorded 4 TFLs, 2 Sacks, and forced an offensive holding penalty when facing the HEAVY Package…but by then, enough damage had been done in the first half to secure the upset.

Ciarrocca – knowing he probably couldn’t beat Penn State straight up – rolled the dice with a formation wrinkle…and it paid off. Here’s hoping that element of surprise remains even though the logo on Ciarrocca’s polo has changed.

UM, TIGHT ENDS?

Because of the aforementioned offensive line issues, Ciarrocca’s Minnesota scheme ignored tight end pass routes. Like almost completely ignored them. In the three games we scouted, Ciarrocca’s tight ends caught ONE pass for ONE yard. And it wasn’t even a pretty, well-executed yard. No, it was a freaking clown show.

TEs 42 and 88 are stacked to the left. Pretty sure someone screws up, because they run into each other.

Both appear to be running the same route. Both turn to catch the ball.

Basically, this play is a waste of a down. Minnesota ends up kicking a FG.

Conversely, plays to Pat Freirmuth are anything but wastes of a down. He’s scored 15 touchdowns in two seasons. He’s the ultimate matchup problem. He’ll be a 10-year pro. Soooo if Ciarrocca is as smart as we all think he is, then he’s spent this offseason figuring out creative ways to incorporate his 260-pound new toy into the offense. This HAS to be the major difference between Ciarrocca’s 2019 Minnesota offense and Ciarrocca’s 2020 Penn State offense.

UM, RBs IN THE PASSING GAME?

Ditto. Minnesota’s running backs caught 10 passes in 2019. Penn State’s running backs caught 39. In the three games we scouted, Minnesota’s RBs didn’t catch a pass further than 5 yards downfield. THIS MUST CHANGE.

The quicker Ciarrocca trusts Penn State’s OL to protect Clifford with minimal assistance, the sooner the new guy can utilize Journey Brown’s elite speed in the passing game. I believe this will be the next evolution in Journey’s game and expect him to catch 40 balls this season – partly because he’s just that talented, and partly because Penn State’s WR unit is largely unproven.

WILL LEVIS PACKAGE?

OK, we’re excited about this!

Last year, Ciarrocca’s offense featured a short-yardage package we’re calling MUSCLE GOPHER. During these plays, QB Tanner Morgan split out wide while 6-foot-4, 240-pound backup receiver/Dr. Evil’s son, Seth Green, lined up behind center.

There’s some action in the backfield, but it’s not really a mesh. It’s just candy for the linebackers. There’s no option element to this play. Green never handed off. Green never threw the ball. It’s straight QB Run.

Considering the punishment Sean Clifford took last season, expect Ciarrocca to keep his starter fresh by implementing this same package in Happy Valley using backup Will Levis. From a physical standpoint, Levis is basically a Seth Green clone…plus he can (sort of) pass! In homage to Levis’ Maryland TD celebration from last season, we’ll be referring to this package as the HAMMER DOWN package.