How the Penn State football offense is ‘totally different’ under coordinator Andy Kotelnicki

There is something different about quarterback Drew Allar and the Nittany Lion offense this season.

The Penn State junior and the rest of the unit didn’t light the world on fire with their performance Saturday night in the 21-7 win over Illinois in Beaver Stadium. But it’s not always about what they are doing between the sidelines to help the Nittany Lions.

“We came in for halftime and (Allar) spoke to the O-line right then and there,” offensive lineman Vega Ioane said. “He told us that we were doing a good job and that we were wearing them out. He could tell we were wearing them out. That gets us going as an O-line when our quarterback gives us a little bit of love for the job we’re doing up front.”

Through four weeks of the season, it has become increasingly clear that this offense is different, and so is Allar. It didn’t matter that he only passed for 135 yards by going 15-of-21. It mattered that, after unmitigated disasters in the team’s biggest games in 2023, Allar is making critical plays at pivotal times while leading the Nittany Lions.

And their opponents are noticing.

“Offensively they’re totally different,” Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. I have tremendous respect for (offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki). He runs multiple personnel groupings. I think he plays to his players’ strengths.”

Allar’s evolution is a smaller piece of the offensive revolution the Nittany Lions are undergoing.

Those offensive changes stem from the switch at offensive coordinator from Mike Yurcich to Kotelnicki. The new coordinator is on the cutting edge of offensive creativity and shows it off every game. Sometimes that’s putting linemen outside with the receivers. Sometimes it’s putting extra tight ends and running backs on the field only to shift them all out wide, leaving the defense with less athleticism than it would if it matched the original formation.

And sometimes it’s putting offensive linemen in motion to destroy a waiting defender as a lead blocker on runs. All of that can give the players what they need to find success.

“I take it to heart as a thing where he trusts me a lot to do something like that,” Ioane said about going in motion. “When I’m out there, I’m gonna lay my body down for him, for the play, for the offense. Whatever he asks me to do, I’ll do it for him.”

That might be the key to all of it for the offense — trust.

Kotelnicki makes sure his players know he believes in them. That allows them to play like they know what’s coming. It helps those linemen, but it also helps established stars that have more than enough reason to have their own confidence — and that doesn’t just apply to Allar.

Take Nick Singleton, for example. The junior running back broke out as a freshman, rushing for over 1,000 yards and making his mark as one of the most dynamic backs in the country. But last year that star faded a bit. He ran for only 752 yards and didn’t get the ball in key situations.

Now, under Kotelnicki, he’s back to his explosive ways — something he’s noticed. That stems from the positions the offensive coordinator is putting him in.

“Everybody is buying into it, the receivers, tight ends, really the whole offense,” Singleton said. “Coach K has been really good. He just preaches about being explosive and having toughness to everybody.”

Kotelnicki’s belief in his offense has clearly spread to Allar, who has grown into one of the leaders of the team. Last year, the then-19-year-old was part of the offense, rather than the head of it.

That has changed drastically. There is the moment Ioane pointed to at halftime that gave the linemen the conviction they needed to keep pushing forward, but there were plenty of other smaller opportunities for Allar to show he’s the guy on offense.

“I think he just has control of our huddle right now,” tight end Tyler Warren said. “There were a few plays where he lowered his shoulder and it puts a spark in our offense. He’s our leader and we’re following him. He’s doing a great job of leading the offense. ... His calmness and his confidence, not just calling the play, giving us a little talk right before it to know the situation. Little stuff like that, things that stick out to you and helps you and makes the offense better as a whole.”

That command, and the confidence that has led to it, stems from the coordinator instilling it in the group. But it can’t end here.

Allar and the rest of the offense will need to keep growing for the team to take steps forward. Saturday night the quarterback took charge but still leaned on his running game — to the tune of 239 yards on the ground — to bully Illinois. But there will be times when he will be asked to do more and the rushing attack will take a back seat— times when Kotelnicki will deem the quarterback’s arm to be the best weapon the offense has at its disposal.

That may happen against USC or Wisconsin in October, but it will certainly happen the next time a ranked opponent strolls into Beaver Stadium. That will be on Nov. 2 when Ohio State comes to town, looking to continue its utter domination over Penn State in recent years.

And that is when different will not be good enough for Allar and the Nittany Lion offense.

They will have to be better.