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USATSI

Penn State has its new offensive coordinator, and he's from a Big Ten foe, of all places. On Thursday, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin announced that Kirk Ciarrocca would be the team's new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Ciarrocca arrives in Happy Valley after spending the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Minnesota. 

"I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to work at a program as rich in tradition as Penn State University," Ciarrocca said in a statement. "It is an honor and a privilege to join Coach Franklin's staff and to work alongside such a successful head football coach. Having grown up a Penn State fan, I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as your offensive coordinator. My family and I are overjoyed to be coming home to Happy Valley."    

Ciarrocca, a Pennsylvania native, replaces Ricky Rahne, who recently became the head coach at Old Dominion. Ciarrocca helped lead Minnesota's offense to its best offensive scoring output in program history while also guiding them to the second-best passing attack the school had ever seen in 2019. The Gophers averaged 34.3 points per game while scoring 55 touchdowns -- 28 of which came through the air. Quarterback Tannger Morgan averaged nearly 248 yards passing on the season. In a 31-26 win over Penn State, Morgan threw for 339 yards and completed 90 percent of his passes for three touchdowns. 

Before arriving at Minnesota, Ciarrocca was part of P.J. Fleck's staff at Western Michigan for four seasons. He also had stints at Rutgers under Greg Schiano and Delaware, where he coached quarterback Joe Flacco, among other spots.