Well yeah, but honestly I couldn't care less how much they pay him.
I don't think Brohm deserves that much either, but whatever. Might as well learn a little about him...
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Joe Moorehead - 43 yo - successful HC (Fordham) and current OC at Penn State.
http://www.statecollege.com/news/co...nsformed-penn-state-on-off-the-field,1470125/
Joe Moorhead is about so much more than just scoring points.
He’s that too, of course, as the success of his offensive scheme and play-calling for Penn State has shown time and again this truly remarkable season.
But Moorhead’s upbeat attitude and passion for perfection may have made an even bigger impact since he became the Nittany Lions’ offensive coordinator 351 days ago.
So says quarterback Trace McSorley.
“You know, just as well as I do, the change in our offense from last year to this year,” said McSorley after leading Penn State over Michigan State, 45-12, in Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
Yes, we do.
In 2015, Penn State averaged 23.15 points per game.
In 2016, Penn State has averaged 23.33 points per game –
and that’s just in the second half. Overall, the Nittany Lions are scoring 36.6 points per game and piling up tuddies in bunches.
REASON NO. 1
There are two reasons for those numbers, says McSorley, who has guided the Nittany Lions to a 10-2 record and a spot in next Saturday’s Big Ten title game against Wisconsin.
“A big part of that is, One, the offense Coach Moorhead brought in.”
It’s the RPO – a run-pass option offense. It is predicated on McSorley deciding when and how to not only get the ball to superstar running back Saquon Barkley, but then -- if he keeps it – deciding whether to make a mad dash for the corner or staying in the pocket and waiting for a Nittany Lion receiver to get open. And a receiver, as we have learned,
will be open. Often, wide open.
And in 2016, doing this all the while Penn State offensive lineman have been dropping like flies. (See: starting offensive tackles Nelson, Andrew; Palmer, Paris; and Mahon, Brendan.)
Certain Penn State statistics underscore that change:
-- McSorley, a redshirt sophomore in his first year as a starter, is leading all of major college football in yards per completion, at 16.17 yards. He’s had passing games of 332 (twice), 335 and 376, the latter on Saturday against Michigan State, when he also threw a career-high four TD passes (three in a nine-minute chunk of the third quarter).
-- Penn State ranks No. 6 in the country for fewest interceptions, with five. Since throwing a pick on his final pass of the Michigan game, McSorley has thrown 210 passes and has had only two intercepted (both against Indiana). After eight fumbles, three of them for losses, in the season’s first three games, McSorley has not had a single fumble – lost or otherwise.
-- McSorley now has Penn State’s single-season record for total yards, with 2,976 yards passing and 372 yards rushing, for an average of 279 yards per game and 3,348 overall. Under Moorhead’s direction, he does what he needs to, when he needs to, i.e., running for 81 yards against Maryland and just two against Purdue.
-- Barkley, likewise, has risen to the occasion on the occasions where Moorhead has needed him. The sophomore from the Lehigh Valley has run for for 1,219 yards, with games both big (202 yards vs. Maryland, 207 vs. Purdue) and small (59 vs. Michigan, 14 vs. Michigan State).
It’s that fluctuation, though, which underscores what else Moorhead has brought to the table from Fordham. A belief in his system and an unwavering confidence that whatever play he and his band of merry red-cappers on the PSU sidelines signal in, in whatever mode Penn State moves the ball, will be successful. And score points. Often.
REASON NO. 2
The second reason for all those Moorpoints is less apparent. But maybe even Moorimportant for a program that has battled through coaching changes, scandal, sanctions and consecutive seasons of 8-4, 7-5, 7-6 and 7-6.
“Two is the mentality that he brought,” McSorley said. “The mentality among this team changed once Coach Moorhead stepped foot in the football building. There’s just a different light around the team, a different mentality. Guys really bought into that.”
So, it wasn’t just about the X’s and O’s. It was about getting the team thinking about how far it could go. About having a championship mentality. It jibed perfectly with and reinforced on the field and in the meeting room that which is James Franklin’s relentless positivity and clear vision for program-wide success.
“I think that was huge, to be able to get the buy-in to Coach Moorhead’s system and his mentality and the work ethic he’s been preaching to us, knowing that – talking about that championship standard,” McSorley said. “That’s the first thing he talked about when he got here. That’s the standard we work to, no matter whether we’re watching film, we’re in a workout, we’re in a game, whatever it is.
“We’re always working to the standard. We’re not working to go against our scout team or our first-team defense. We’re always working to a standard that us a championship standard. It’s been huge for us, him bringing in that mentality and really elevating our entire team.”
Beyond that championship mindset are myriad other sides to Moorhead, a Pennsylvania native who spent the previous four seasons as head coach at Fordham, where his teams went 38-13. A former QB, a three-year starter and team captain at Fordham -- he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame this year – he is Penn State’s quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, as well as the play-caller.
Moorhead, at age 43, is a grounded guy, whose Twitter handle reads "Christian/Husband/Father.” He quickly became embedded in the State College community, from working the concession stands at his sons’ baseball games to bumping into locals while at the movies with his entire family of wife Jennifer and kids Mason, Donovan and Kyra in tow. Moorhead carries himself with the ease of a one-time successful head coach, and with that he brings a strong and steadying sense of experience, maturity, leadership and organization to Lasch every single day. (Franklin, smartly and proudly, permits and encourages both Moorhead and his defensive counterpart, Brent Pry, to fully serve as the “head coaches of their units.”)
Moorhead made a lasting impression at Fordham, as his former QB there, Michael Nebrich, can attest. A record-setting dual-threat quarterback out of a Northern Virginia high school, just like McSorley, Nebrich was a two-year starter who threw for over 8,000 yards and 66 TDs for Fordham. After his first 50 weeks on the job, best we can tell is that the Happy Valley Joe is almost exactly like the Bronx Joe.
”Joe’s so good at what he does and is so good with his offense,” Nebrich said
when we talked at length in March. ”But the media doesn’t understand how great he is with his players. He’s an unbelievable players’ coach because he has the truest aspects of a family dynamic. That’s what he preaches with his guys and that’s how it was when I was with him. That’s why I’m so close with him to this day.”
Moorhead is the real deal, right down to his stretch-run salt-and-pepper beard. Just ask players from every position group on the Penn State offense -- running back, offensive line, tight end and wide receiver, as well as more from the quarterback himself. Which we did, after the East Division-clinching victory over Michigan State. Here’s what they had to say about the many faces of #BallCoachJoeMo and his special brand of mojo.
JOE THE MYSTIC
Backup running back Andre Robinson is a touchdown machine. He’s scored six times on 27 touches this season, including a pair of scores against Michigan State, on a 14-yard run and a 40-yard pass reception.
“Trace threw me an awesome ball. It was a little trick play we ran this week (in practice). We bluffed the defender and it was wide open, just like Coach Moorhead said it would be. And Trace put the ball right on the money. Receivers’ downfield blocking made it easy for me.
“I don’t know if Moorhead’s a psychic or what, but he knows his stuff. He kind of knows what’s going to happen. It gives us so much confidence. He called something else that ended up happening in the game, that was spot-on. It gives us a lot of confidence in him and in the scheme and in ourselves.”
JOE THE SOOTH-SAQUON-SAYER
Veteran center Brian Gaia has been the rock of a Penn State offensive line that has been decimated by injury, buttressed by youth and chiseled by new O-line coach Matt Limegrover (aka LineGrower). That Moorhead has known Limegrover since childhood only strengthens their bond and that of the line with the PSU offense. The two are frequently side-by-side at Penn State’s practices. Gaia’s vantage point, looking upsidedown, is unlike any other.
“Sometimes the running game works and sometimes it doesn’t. You just have to roll with the punches. No one in this offense is selfish. If we have to throw the ball for 400 yards to win the game, we don’t care.There’s always something every game we go into that we want to work on and we come out having improved in that area. It’s a game-by-game basis. Every game we have grown.
“I think defenses have to respect Saquon. He’s one of the best running backs in the country. A lot of people key on him. We always knew Trace had the ability to throw for all those yards… Moorhead puts Trace in positions where he can run and pass and still give it to Saquon. So there are so many things they have to do to stop Trace and Saquon and all our great players on the outside. We always know every week that if we get our hats on the right people and straight and finish it, those runs can pop at any time. And those pass plays can be big plays like they were today.”
JOE THE MOOR-TIVATOR
In 2015, tight end Mike Gesicki caught just 13 passes and caught a lot of hell for dropping almost as many. In 2016, Gesicki is a poster boy for the Moorhead offense and Penn State-bred maturity. His 44 receptions and 610 yards receiving are both single-season records for a PSU tight end.
“I think Coach Moorhead has done an unbelievable job instilling confidence in all of the players and all the guys on the offense. It was something where we would go out there and we wouldn’t know if we were going to get that first down, we didn’t know if we were going to move the ball down the field.
“Now, in our heads we know that we’re going to take the ball down the field and go get a touchdown. He obviously has a great scheme and a great game plan and he’s put it all together with all of us. I’m appreciative of everything he’s done, not only for the team but myself and letting me make some plays all season long.
“Am I having fun? Absolutely. This is the most fun I’ve had playing football in my life.”
JOE AND THE RED-FACED REIGN, DEAR
Wide receiver Chris Godwin is the king of the deep shots, the prince of 50-50 balls. He has nine TD catches in 2016, with 47 receptions that, on average, are good for 16.2 yards. His five receptions vs. Michigan State went for 18, 4, 34 (TD), 59 (TD) and 20 yards.
“They were set up for (the long ball) based on some of the things we were doing. Coach Moorhead does a great job calling plays and setting up different plays he wants to run. When we came in (at halftime) we made our adjustments. Trace and I didn’t talk individually, but we knew were going to have to make big plays in the passing game.
“Coach Moorhead is very passionate. He’s a very passionate guy. We can tell that through all of our meetings. He can go from a very calm talking tone to really getting fired up as if we are going to play that day. That’s what we love about him. Each and every game he’s going to come out and call it to win.
“His halftime (speeches) are really fiery. He gets his blood going. His face starts to get red. It gets us going. Obviously, we wish that we could have a better start to the first half, but all year we’ve been a second-half team so I think it’s worked out.”
JOE THE QUARTERBACK-WHISPERER
McSorley loves to go deep. A smart and savvy student of the game who also excels in the classroom, he works closer with Moorhead than anybody.
Deep shots: “It’s a lot of fun. Definitely one of the most fun things about this offense is the deep threats that we have. Coach Moorhead is going to continue to take shots. That’s what he does. He’s not going to back away. He trusts the guys on the field. He trusts the line. The line did an amazing job protecting us today for us to be able to take those shots downfield and let our receivers work. We have those long-developing plays. I love it. I love giving our guys on the outside chances to be play-makers.”
Deep changes: “Part of it is what we talk about at halftime. Our coaches do a great job of making adjustments. He gives guys a chance to see things and how they’re going to try to play us.”
Deep looks: “Coach Moorhead is always saying, ‘Move in the pocket with your eyes downfield. Never get your eyes down looking at the rusher or looking at what you might have in front of you. Always keep your eyes up.’ Trying to find guys downfield we’ll do scramble drills in practice, where we’ll emulate the quarterback getting out and the receivers have to mirror. We have rules for our receivers.”
Deep thoughts: “The scheme we have is huge for us. It’s how our plays chalk up. There’s continued progression, getting through our final progressions throughout, even while we’re moving in the pocket or scrambling and keeping our eyes open and finding those guys who are open. It’s really hard to cover guys for extended periods of time. If we can get out of the pocket and especially give our guys on the outside time to work and break free, that’s only going to benefit us and give us an advantage.”
A la Dr. Deepkia Chopra (a self-proclaimed
“Optimism Coach and Professional Psychologist”): “It’s been an amazing transformation from where we were. We had some success, but we knew we weren’t having the success we knew we could have. We knew we needed to change something and get the ball rolling with our offense. We didn’t want to keep on coming back after the game and saying, ‘We scored 20 but we could have scored 40.’ We wanted to reach our full potential this year and make sure we weren’t leaving anything out on the table. We got together, continued to prepare and the preparation and things we were doing started to pay off for us.”
