REPORT: Penn State football set to hire third new coordinator of offseason

For the third time this offseason, James Franklin will hire a new coordinator. Penn State football is expected to add Vanderbilt assistant coach Justin Lustig to its staff as special teams coordinator, first reported by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports on Monday. The decision comes after former special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach Stacy Collins left the Nittany Lions to return to Boise State on January 12. 

Penn State expected to name Justin Lustig as special teams coordinator

On Monday night, Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported that James Franklin is expected to hire Justin Lustig as Penn State football’s next special teams coordinator. The Nittany Lions are hiring Lustig away from Vanderbilt, where he has been the tight ends, special teams, and assistant head coach since 2021.

Lustig elevated the Vanderbilt special teams from a unit that ranked outside the top 100 in the FBS prior to his arrive to one ranked within the top 50 this season. Prior to arriving in Nashville, Lustig spent four seasons at Syracuse, where he was a Broyles Award nominee for the nation’s top assistant coach in 2018.

In taking the Penn State job, Justin Lustig is coming home. A native of Erie, Lustig is a graduate of Cathedral Prep. He played defensive back at Bucknell before starting his college coaching career in 2001.

Lustig replaces Stacy Collins, who spent the last two seasons as the Nittany Lions’ special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. Last week, Collins returned to Boise State, where he was prior to coming to Happy Valley, to be the Broncos’ special teams coordinator and assistant head coach. Before coming to Penn State, Collins had spent most of his career on the West Coast. 

Stacy Collins led an impressive turnaround of the special teams unit in Happy Valley. Penn State football finished 2023 ranked No. 6 nationally in net punting, with Riley Thompson averaging 43 yards per kick. The Nittany Lions also ranked No. 22 with an average of 17 returns yards allowed per kickoff. After a shaky start to the season from the field goal unit, Alex Felkins finished top 50 in field goal percentage this fall. 

Three is the magic number

After relative stability following the 2022 season in terms of coaching moves, this offseason has been anything but so far for Penn State football. With the hire of Justin Lustig, James Franklin has replaced all three coordinators in less than two months. 

On December 1, the Nittany Lions hired Andy Kotelnicki as offensive coordinator after firing Mike Yurcich in November. Kotelnicki takes over a unit with plenty of talent. But the Penn State offense struggled to find points and explosive plays in the biggest moments of 2023. 

Several weeks later, on December 19, Penn State hired former Indiana head coach Tom Allen as its new defensive coordinator. Allen replaces Manny Diaz, who took the head coaching job at Duke. Despite having the best unit in the nation this fall, Allen will need young Nittany Lions to step up after losing many of the defense’s veteran playmakers. This was evidenced by the unit’s worst outing of the season in the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss. 

Lustig will take over a special teams room losing Felkins, who is out of eligibility. The Nittany Lions added Tulsa kicker Chase Meyer from the transfer portal, while Sander Sahaydak remains on the roster. Thompson returns for another season after earning another year of eligibility, while fellow punter Alex Bacchetta entered the portal in December.

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