Penn State Hires OC Kirk Ciarrocca Away from Minnesota

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ Penn State has hired Kirk Ciarrocca as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

He held the same role for Big Ten foe Minnesota for the past three seasons. Ciarrocca replaces Ricky Rahne, who was named the head coach at OId Dominion earlier this month.

Penn State plays Memphis in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. Ciarrocca grew up as a Nittany Lions fan and has deep ties to Pennsylvania.

He guided the Gophers' offense to a breakout year as quarterback Tanner Morgan set single-season program records for yards and touchdowns.