STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Upon his arrival in Happy Valley, new Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki asked each of his new players a question that would shape their goals for spring practice.

What do they want this offense to be? The Nittany Lions’ answers, when combined, appear to be a recipe for success.

“They want to be explosive,” Kotelnicki said. “They want to be enthusiastic. They want to be confident in what they’re doing.”

A year after another third-fiddle finish to Ohio State and Michigan in the Big Ten’s now-defunct East Division, Penn State is determined to get there with new leadership on all sides of the ball.

Kotelnicki is the sixth offensive coordinator in head coach James Franklin’s 11 seasons at Penn State. At Kansas, Kotelnicki was part of a staff that directed a turnaround of what was the worst football program in Power Five for more than a decade.