Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith again stressed the need to pass the football downfield Monday at his weekly press conference.
Smith has discussed it at every one of his media availabilities since he replaced James Franklin on Oct. 12. Even he admitted that he “almost sounds like a broken record.”
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Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 19 of 28 passes for 145 yards in a 38-14 loss to No. 1 Ohio State last weekend. The Nittany Lions averaged just 5.0 yards per pass attempt after averaging 3.3 yards two weeks earlier in a 25-24 loss at Iowa, Grunkemeyer’s first start since replacing Drew Allar.
“It’s my job to make sure that it gets changed,” Smith said. “It will get changed this week (against No. 2 Indiana). I’m talking with the offensive staff. We’re going to push the ball a little bit further down the field.
“We had 102 yards after the catch and 145 total, which means the ball is still going horizontally. We have to develop the play action and the intermediate game. We have to take five, six, or seven shots vertically down the field. I have to get it fixed.”
Penn State (0-5 Big Ten, 3-5) will play its first game at Beaver Stadium since Franklin’s firing and Allar’s season-ending leg injury when it takes on the Hoosiers (6-0, 9-0) Saturday at noon (TV-FOX).
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Indiana ranks second in tackles for loss, third in scoring defense (10.8), fourth in rushing yards allowed (80.0), seventh in total defense (248.3) and eighth in sacks.
The Lions, on the other hand, are 105th in total offense (335.6), 112th in pass offense (180.4) and 95th in pass efficiency.
Smith was asked how he would evaluate offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who has come under fire this season.
“There’s always room for improvement,” he said. “That’s what we’re having conversations about every week. How do we improve the pass game? How do we get the ball pushed down the field?
“As I’ve said before, we have to continue to figure out ways to push the ball down the field. He’s aware of that. We’re making conscious efforts to get that done this week.”
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Smith also has said multiple times that freshman Koby Howard and redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark would start receiving more snaps.
In limited action, Howard caught one pass for 14 yards against the Hawkeyes and had one catch for 26 yards against the Buckeyes. They were the longest Penn State receptions in each of those games.
“The challenge with any young player, especially freshmen, is learning the system completely,” Smith said. “We have a ton of plays with a ton of different options. A lot of times with young receivers, they may run routes short or they may not be quite where they’re supposed to be.
“Koby competes. This guy loves football. We have to give him an opportunity to get out there and shine. That’s my job. Koby’s going to be on the field Saturday.”
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Grunkemeyer faced the difficult task of making the first two starts of his career at Iowa and Ohio State. He completed 34-of-56 passes for 238 yards with three interceptions.
Without Jaxon Smolik on the trip to Ohio, freshman Bekkam Kritza and walk-on Jack Lambert were Grunkemeyer’s backups. Neither one has taken a college snap.
“Ethan continues to grow,” Smith said. “I think he’s getting better. We have to give him more opportunities. He did miss a dig (route) to Kyron Hudson. Those are the types of throws we have to have him make.
“He also completed a couple critical third-down passes. We just have to give him more opportunities to show and develop.”
