The concept of throwing deep passes has been a constant and controversial talking point in relation to Penn State’s offense in recent seasons, but struggles in the vertical passing game persist.
Those issues continued to appear last Saturday against Ohio State, with quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer averaging just 5.2 yards per pass attempt and the longest reception by a starting wide receiver or tight end being just 18 yards. Both Smith and Grunkemeyer said several deep shots were dialed up, but either the protection failed or the receivers failed to gain separation, preventing them from converting.
On Monday, interim head coach Terry Smith met with the media and addressed ongoing concerns about the team’s passing attack, making bold proclamations about Saturday.
“We’re continuing to examine that,” Smith said. “You almost sound like a broken record, right? We keep saying that. You know, it’s my job to make sure it gets changed. It will get changed this week.”
Smith said he’s had continued conversations with the offensive staff about pushing the ball downfield, an element that’s been nearly nonexistent this season. Of the team’s 145 receiving yards against the Buckeyes, 102 came after the catch, per Smith, “which means the ball is still going horizontally.”
He also said the tight end room, which has seen a drastic decline in production this season, is a “strong room” that needs to get involved to create more passing threats.
Smith said one of the solutions is developing the play action game, which begins with creating a legitimate threat on the ground off the legs of Kaytron Allen. Establishing the run will help draw defenders into the box and open up opportunities over the top.
The plan is to call more passing plays in the intermediate range as well as 5-7 deep balls.
“We will throw the ball down the field this week,” Smith said.
Wide receiver Koby Howard is responsible for the Nittany Lions longest receptions in each of the last two games, with a 14-yard grab against Iowa and a 26-yarder at Ohio State. Despite his apparent ability to open up the downfield attack, Howard saw just 12 total snaps in those games.
“The challenge with any young player, especially freshmen, is learning the system completely,” Smith said. “We have tons of plays with a ton of different options off of each particular play. So a lot of times with young receivers, they may run routes short where they’re not quite where they’re supposed to be, where the quarterback wants them. So a lot of times, the coach doesn’t have confidence to put them in because they may make that mental error.”
Still, Smith said Howard will “get an opportunity to shine” against No. 2 Indiana on Saturday. It’s not dissimilar from his comments a week ago, where he called Howard one of four freshmen who needed to be more involved.
“There’s 50 different personnel groups, and there are certain guys that you want for certain plays,” Smith said. “So you just can’t plug and play, because the young guys don’t know the entire playbook, so you have to be selective what plays they can handle, and that’s the challenge with those guys.”
