Soccer
Franklin makes an offensive change of coordinator and hires Mike Yurcich
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Football Coach James Franklin announced a change of technical committee on Friday with the hiring of Mike Yurcich as offensive coordinator and defender coach and the departure of Kirk Ciarrocca.
“First of all, I would like to thank Kirk for his contributions to our program last year,” said Franklin. “It was a difficult decision, but we felt it was better for our program to make a change. We wish him and his family all the best in their future endeavors.
“We are thrilled to have Mike joining our team,” continued Franklin. “He has an impressive offensive mind and a talented player who has set records everywhere he has been as an offensive coordinator. I am looking forward to seeing what he can do with all the offensive weapons we have here in Penn State. I have followed the from Mike for a long time, since his time at PSAC in Shippensburg and Edinboro. We look forward to bringing Mike and his family back to Pennsylvania. “
“I would like to thank the head coach James Franklin, Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour and President Eric Barron for the opportunity to be the offensive coordinator at Penn State University, “said Yurcich.” Having spent 11 years in the state of Pennsylvania as a player and coach, I understand the meaning of this duty and will represent it properly and with humble pride. “
Yurcich (YER-sitch), who has 22 years of experience as a high school coach, including 15 as an offensive coordinator, joins the Nittany Lions after spending the 2020 season in Texas as an offensive coordinator and defender coach.
In his career as an offensive coordinator for FBS, Yurcich’s offensives averaged 6.49 yards per move, which ranks first among the OCs since 2013 and 14.03 yards per completion, being the first among the Power Five OCs in that period. Since 2013, Yurcich’s offensives have scored 50 or more points 26 times and 40 or more points 51 times (50 percent of trained games), both of which are the best among FBS offensive coordinators since 2013. Their teams have averaged 61.5 touchdowns per year.
Under Yurcich’s guidance, the Longhorns ranked eighth on the FBS in offensive scores (42.7 ppg), 16º passing efficiency (156.2) and 19º in total attack (475.4 ypg). Texas also finished in the top 40 in the country for passing the attack (27º; 280.1 ypg) and the hasty offense (37º; 195.3 ypg). The 42.7 points per game are second in Texas history. The Longhorns had 17 different players catching at least one pass during the 2020 season and nine with at least 10 catches. UT had 12 different players registering a touchdown reception.
With Yurcich’s guidance, Longhorn quarterback Sam Ehlinger completed 60.1 percent (184-306) of his passes with a large 12-leader 25 touchdowns. He also ran to score eight goals on the way to earn second team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. The freshman runner Bijan Robinson averaged 8.2 meters per attempt to take first place in the country among runners with more than 80 attempts.
Prior to his stint in Austin, Yurcich served as a passing game coordinator and defensive coach for Ohio State in 2019. That season, the Buckeyes recorded a 13-1 record and won a trip to the College Football Playoff, while defender Justin Fields was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and Davey O’Brien Award. Fields was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and received honors from All-America’s second team from Walter Camp, Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association and Football Writers Association of America. Fields came in third at FBS with 40 passing touchdowns with just three interceptions for the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the country. Fields finished with 51 touchdowns in total, 3,273 passing yards, 306 responsible points and 181.4 passing efficiency.
Yurcich was the architect of one of the largest offensive eras in the state of Oklahoma, as the program averaged 38.0 points and 478.3 yards per game in his six-year stint as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for 2013- 18. OSU scored 40 or more points 35 times and 50 or more points 15 times under Yurcich. In Yurcich’s six years, OK State was ranked fifth nationally in passing yards per game (315.9 ypg), seventh in total attack (478.6 ypg) and sixth in scoring. During their tenure at Stillwater, the Cowboys had 52-34 with four seasons of 10 wins, four wins in the bowl and two appearances in the New Year’s Six (2016 Sugar Bowl and 2014 Cotton Bowl).
Oklahoma State finished 10º in FBS in total attack (500.2 ypg) and in attack (309.8 ypg) in 2018. Yurcich transformed quarterback Taylor Cornelius into one of the top 10 players in the national ranking in passing yards (4º; 3,978 yards), passing yards per game (6º; 306.0 ypg), passes for touchdowns (8º; 32), total offense (6º; 337.3 ypg) and points responsible for (5º; 252).
The Oklahoma state offense in 2017 featured 4,000-yard passer Mason Rudolph, two 1,000-yard receivers in James Washington and Marcell Ateman and the 1,000-yard rusher Justice Hill. The Cowboys led the country in passing yards (389.2 ypg), finished second in the total attack (568.9 ypg) and fourth in the scoring attack (45.0 ppg). Washington won the Biletnikoff award for best recipient in the country and Rudolph won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award for best senior quarterback in college football. Working on Yurcich’s attack throughout his career, Washington ended up as the best recipient of OK State ever, with 4,472 yards, the second in the history of the big 12. In 2017, the Cowboys set eight school records in a single season, including total attack, yards per move, passing yards, first runs and passing efficiency. The 2017 team reached the 50-point mark six times and eclipsed 500 yards from the attack nine times, including a school record of 747 yards against Baylor.
In 2016, the State of Oklahoma was one of two Power Five teams to produce a 4,000 yard passer (Rudolph), a 1,000 yard rusher (Hill) and a 1,000 yard receiver (Washington). The Cowboys ranked among the top 20 in the country in four categories. With a two-quarterback system in 2015, OK State launched 34 touchdowns and placed seventh on FBS in passing yards per game (353.2 ypg) and 14º in the offense score (39.5 ppg). Yurcich produced the 12 major offensive newbies of the year at Tyreek Hill in 2014 and took the state of Oklahoma to a 14º– place in the attack (39.1) in its first season in 2013.
Yurcich served as an offensive coordinator for two seasons (2011-12) at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. In their first season, the Raiders set several records on the program, including points scored, touchdowns and total attack. In 2012, Shippensburg led NCAA Division II in total attack (529.2 ypg) and was second in offensive scoring (46.9 ppg) and passing yards per game (387.7 ypg). Under Yurcich’s tutelage, quarterback Zach Zulli won the 2012 Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in Division II. Zulli tied the NCAA Division II record with 54 points for approval.
A native of Euclid, Ohio, he also trained for six seasons at Edinboro University, working with quarterbacks and wide receivers in 2005 before becoming the 2006-10 offensive coordinator. Yurcich also trained at Saint Francis (Ind.) From 1999 to 2002 and was an offensive undergraduate assistant at Indiana University in 2003 and 2004.
Graduated in 1999 from California University (Pa.), Yurcich graduated in psychology. He also received his master’s degree in school counseling from Indiana University in 2004. Yurcich and his wife Julie have two children, Jack and Clay, and a daughter, Maria. Julie was an All-American cross country runner in Edinboro.