The body of work on PSU's OC, Mike Yurcich

Eagle5 · Sep 14, 2021

The matchup between elite DC Derek Mason and Penn State's OC and QB coach, Mike Yurcich, is a biggie this Saturday. I've bolded the items that I found most pertinent as to how he'll perform both planning this week and in-game on Saturday.

E5

COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Mike Yurcich was named Penn State's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on January 8, 2021.
Yurcich (YER-sitch), who has 22 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 15 as an offensive coordinator, joins the Nittany Lions after spending the 2020 season at Texas as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
In his career as an FBS offensive coordinator, Yurcich’s offenses have averaged 6.49 yards per play, which ranks first among OC’s since 2013 and 14.03 yards per completion, which is first among Power Five OC’s in that timeframe.
Since 2013, Yurcich’s offenses have scored 50 or more points 26 times and 40 or more points 51 times (50 percent of games coached), both of which are tops among FBS offensive coordinators since 2013. His teams average 61.5 touchdowns per year.
Under Yurcich’s guidance, the Longhorns ranked eighth in FBS in scoring offense (42.7 ppg), 16th in passing efficiency (156.2) and 19th in total offense (475.4 ypg). Texas also finished in the top 40 in the country in passing offense (27th; 280.1 ypg) and rushing offense (37th; 195.3 ypg). The 42.7 points per game ranks second in Texas history.
The Longhorns had 17 different players catch at least one pass during the 2020 season and nine with at least 10 catches. UT had 12 different players record a touchdown catch.
With Yurcich’s guidance, Longhorn quarterback Sam Ehlinger completed 60.1 percent (184-306) of his passes with a Big 12-leading 25 touchdowns. He also rushed for eight scores on the way to earning second-team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Freshman running back Bijan Robinson averaged 8.2 yards per attempt to rank first in the country among rushers with more than 80 attempts.
Prior to his time in Austin, Yurcich served as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State in 2019.
In that season, the Buckeyes posted a 13-1 record and earned a trip to the College Football Playoff, while quarterback 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’s Offensive Player of the Year and earned second-team All-America honors from Walter Camp, Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association and Football Writers Association of America.
Fields ranked third in FBS with 40 passing touchdowns with just three interceptions for the nation’s best touchdown-to-interception ratio. He finished with 51 total touchdowns, 3,273 passing yards, 306 points responsible for and a 181.4 passing efficiency rating.
Yurcich was the architect of one of Oklahoma State’s greatest offensive eras as the program averaged 38.0 points and 478.3 yards per game in his six-year stint as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 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 ranked fifth nationally in passing yards per game (315.9 ypg), seventh in total offense (478.6 ypg) and sixth in scoring. During his tenure in Stillwater, the Cowboys were 52-34 with four 10-win seasons, four bowl victories and two New Year’s Six appearances (2016 Sugar Bowl and 2014 Cotton Bowl).
Oklahoma State finished 10th in FBS in total offense (500.2 ypg) and passing offense (309.8 ypg) in 2018. Yurcich developed walk-on quarterback Taylor Cornelius into a top-10 ranked player nationally in passing yards (4th; 3,978 yds), passing yards per game (6th; 306.0 ypg), passing touchdowns (8th; 32), total offense (6th; 337.3 ypg) and points responsible for (5th; 252).
The 2017 Oklahoma State offense featured 4,000-yard passer Mason Rudolph, two 1,000-yard receivers in James Washington and Marcell Ateman and 1,000-yard rusher Justice Hill. The Cowboys led the country in passing yards (389.2 ypg), finished second in total offense (568.9 ypg) and fourth in scoring offense (45.0 ppg). Washington won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s outstanding receiver and Rudolph claimed the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the college football’s best senior quarterback.
Working in Yurcich’s offense his entire career, Washington finished as OK State’s all-time leading receiver with 4,472 yards, which was second in Big 12 history. In 2017, the Cowboys set eight single-season school records, including total offense, yards per play, passing yards, first downs and passing efficiency. The 2017 squad reached the 50-point mark six times and eclipsed 500 yards of offense nine times, including a school-record 747 yards against Baylor.
In 2016, Oklahoma State 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 in the top 20 in the country in four categories.
With a two-quarterback system in 2015, OK State threw for 34 touchdowns and ranked seventh in FBS in passing yards per game (353.2 ypg) and 14th in scoring offense (39.5 ppg). Yurcich produced the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year in Tyreek Hill in 2014 and led Oklahoma State to a 14th-place finish in scoring offense (39.1) in his first season in 2013.
Yurcich served as the offensive coordinator for two seasons (2011-12) at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. In his first season, the Raiders set numerous program records, including points scored, touchdowns and total offense.
In 2012, Shippensburg led NCAA Division II in total offense (529.2 ypg) and was second in scoring offense (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 top player in Division II. Zulli tied the NCAA Division II record with 54 passing scores.
The native of Euclid, Ohio also coached for six seasons at Edinboro University, working with the quarterbacks and wide receivers in 2005 before becoming the offensive coordinator from 2006-10.
Yurcich also coached at Saint Francis (Ind.) from 1999-2002 and was an offensive graduate assistant at Indiana University in 2003 and 2004.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS A PLAYER

Yurcich was a 1999 graduate of California University (Pa.), where he was a three-year starting quarterback and a two-year captain.

PROMINENT PLAYERS COACHED

QB Sam Ehlinger (Texas) – 2020 Wuerffel Trophy Finalist
QB Justin Fields (Ohio State) – 2019 All-American and Heisman Finalist
RB Justice Hill (Oklahoma State) – Baltimore Ravens; 2019 NFL Draft fourth-round pick
WR James Washington (Oklahoma State) – Pittsburgh Steelers; 2018 NFL Draft second-round pick
QB Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State) – Pittsburgh Steelers; 2018 NFL Draft third-round pick
WR Marcell Ateman (Oklahoma State) – Las Vegas Raiders; 2018 NFL Draft seventh-round pick
WR Tylan Wallace (Oklahoma State) – 2018 All-American and Biletnikoff Award Finalist
WR Chris Lacy (Oklahoma State) – NFL (2018-20)
TE Blake Jarwin (Oklahoma State) – Dallas Cowboys
RB Chris Carson (Oklahoma State) – Seattle Seahawks; 2017 NFL Draft seventh-round pick
WR Tyreek Hill (Oklahoma State) – Kansas City Chiefs; 2016 NFL Draft fifth-round pick
QB Zach Zulli (Shippensburg) – 2012 Harlon Hill Trophy (MVP of Division II Football)
QB Trevor Harris (Edinboro) – Edmonton Eskimos (CFL); NFL (2010-11)

Coaching Career

2021-pres. – Penn State (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2020 – Texas (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2019 – Ohio State (passing game coordinator/quarterbacks)
2013-18 – Oklahoma State (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2011-12 – Shippensburg (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2006-10 – Edinboro (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/wide receivers)
2005 – Edinboro (quarterbacks/wide receivers)
2003-04 – Indiana (graduate assistant)
2002 – Saint Francis (Ind.) (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2000-01 – Saint Francis (Ind.) (quarterbacks/junior varsity)
1999 – Saint Francis (Ind.) (running backs)

Bowl Games as a Coach

2020 Valero Alamo Bowl
2019 Fiesta Bowl (CFP Semifinals)
2018 Liberty Bowl
2017 Camping World Bowl
2016 Alamo Bowl
2016 Sugar Bowl
2015 Cactus Bowl
2014 Cotton Bowl

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