Andy Kotelnicki likes to tinker. It's just kind of his way.
The Penn State first-year offensive coordinator is wary of growing stagnant. No matter how deep into the season it gets, there's always time for a new wrinkle, a new play, anything to give an upcoming opponent a little something extra to think about.
Some of it comes from Kotelnicki's imagination. As far as the rest? Well, that's where being a football junkie comes in.
“As a staff, between access to film and watching other games, you steal a lot of things that you think will complement what you’re doing,” Kotelnicki said.
And the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (12-2) are doing plenty these days as they prepare for a meeting with third-seeded Boise State (12-1) in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve, which this year doubles as a quarterfinal for the College Football Playoff.
It's a stage Kotelnicki was prepared to be at the moment he left the same role at Kansas for a chance to ply his trade in the Big Ten. While the immersion process was slow at first, things have started to speed up as the season has gone on.
The Nittany Lions have one of the most unique players in the country in Tyler Warren — who won the Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting — and a running back duo in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen that considers itself the best backfield in the country. They also have a quarterback in Drew Allar who makes up for in efficiency whatever he might lack in eye-popping stats.
Penn State is one of a handful of teams — Boise State among them — that averaged at least 200 yards passing and 200 yards rushing this season. The balance gives Kotelnicki plenty of flexibility. So does what he called “buy in” from Allar, who has passed for a career-high 3,021 yards to go with 21 touchdowns against seven picks.
“We don't have a lot of what I call ‘my bads’ out on the football field,” Kotelnicki said. “He knows what's happening. He knows his reads. He knows what the defense is capable of doing.”
And Allar knows what his teammates are capable of doing. One week Allen, Singleton and Warren are combining for four rushing touchdowns — as they did in a romp over Washington on Nov. 9 — the next Allar is completing 17 of 19 with three touchdowns against Purdue.
It helps that Kotelnicki has an open-door policy with his quarterback that allows for a give-and-take. The two meet regularly and Allar has plenty of input into the gameplan, which he believes makes the actual game itself easier sometimes than practice.
“When the game comes, it’s second nature for me at that point,” Allar said. “(Because) I just made that throw over and over and I know what to expect.”
Sometimes opponents, however, do not because no player in the country is quite like Warren. The 6-foot-6 senior does a little bit of everything, and all of it well. Warren loves his day job — he should, he'll be in the NFL next year — but is dangerous no matter where he lines up.
Warren enters the Fiesta Bowl with 92 receptions for 1,095 yards. Yet he also has become effective running the Wildcat formation, rushing for 197 yards and four touchdowns and even completing 3 of 6 passes for 35 yards and a score.
His star has risen to the point that when Warren doesn't get the ball, it's news. One of Penn State's two losses this season came in a 20-13 defeat at the hands of regular tormentor Ohio State, a game in which Warren didn't get a touch near the goalline during the Nittany Lions' final possession. Afterward, longtime head coach James Franklin admitted not giving Warren a chance was a mistake.
It's one Kotelnicki has not made since, though Warren had a relatively light day — by his standards — in a first-round win over SMU. Then again, the Nittany Lions didn't need him to be special. Not with Allen and Singleton thudding their way to 160 combined yards and three scores.
Leaning on the run helped Penn State advance. Yet the Nittany Lions have every belief they can win another way against Boise State if that's what the moment requires. Just the way Kotelnicki likes it.
For proof look no further than the Big Ten title game loss to Oregon. In recent years, the Nittany Lions have been unable to keep up in shootouts. This time around, they took the undefeated Ducks deep into the fourth quarter before yielding 45-37.
Allar, Warren and everyone else has become fluent in an offense that felt a bit like a foreign language when Kotelnicki introduced it. Not so much anymore.
“Now we’re all comfortable in it," Warren said. "And to see how many things we can do just by making one little tweak here, that's been really fun for us.”
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FILE - Penn State tight end Tyler Warren (44) hurdles Maryland defensive back Kevis Thomas (25) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File)
