(93.7 The Fan) - Imagine, in this time of social distancing, a new job requires learning many things and, at the same time, passing along that information--plus one's own ideas from a different "language"--to dozens of young men.. That's what Kirk Ciarrocca is experiencing in his new position as Penn State offensive coordinator.
Ciarrocca was hired away from Minnesota in late December. Without the benefit of a spring practice schedule, he is working to install his highly productive offense, which made him James Franklin's choice when Ricky Rahne left to become coach at Old Dominion.
"As we're putting this system together, we've all been communicating together," Ciarrocca said. "It's not my system, it's our system now, and we've all contributed to this thing."
Ciarrocca was able to meet in person with players from January to early March. Since then, it's been a virtual meeting room for coach and players.
"We'll have a meeting and then one of the ways we're getting feedback is we'll set up a quiz on the material we just went over and they'll send the quiz back," Ciarrocca said. "You can really grade yourself as a teacher. If the guys all bomb the quiz, then you have to look at yourself and say 'shoot, I didn't do a great job presenting this materal.. What was wrong with my presentation?' So, the feedback has been immediate. At least, that's how we've been attacking it. We're focused on alignment, assignment and technique, making sure they understand the 'whys.' Why is it this way, why is this better? When they get back here and we start practicing, we can focus on those little details that allow you the best chance to do your job."
Penn State hadn't yet started spring ball when the university canceled in-person classes. That means Ciarrocca, who is also the quarterbacks coach, hasn't been able to work directly with starter Sean Clifford. He's already learned, though, that he has a quarterback that's driven to succeed.
"The one thing Sean has is that he wants to be great," Ciarrocca said. "He's eager to learn new things, new approaches. I'm just excited to see him apply what he's learned. The key to him becoming an elite-level quarterback is being able to learn from mistakes and apply that knowledge."