Next season is going to be a huge one for the Penn State football team. The Nittany Lions have been close to winning the Big Ten and making the College Football Playoff in recent years, but they haven't been able to get over the hump. Next year, Penn State is once again expected to be very good, and the playoff is expanding to 12 teams. The Nittany Lions will have their best chance make the CFP because of that, and they are hoping to take advantage of that opportunity.
One thing that Penn State football has to do is finalize their coaching staff to get ready for the 2024 season. James Franklin has some work to do in that regard as he did lose both his offensive coordinator (fired during the season) and his defensive coordinator. He has already found a new OC and DC, but there are still other moves to make. Franklin has other coaching work to do on top of those two hires, and he finalized a couple of spots recently.
First off, Penn State recently lost their special teams coordinator Stacy Collins as he left the program to coach at Boise State. Franklin was able to find a replacement rather quickly as Justin Luftig is coming over from Vanderbilt.
“Growing up in Pennsylvania, I have long held the Penn State program as the gold standard of college football,” Justin Luftig said in a statement, according to an article from Basic Blues Nation. “My family and I are incredibly excited for this opportunity to come back to our home state and join this historic program. I want to thank Coach Franklin for this opportunity to join the Penn State football staff. I’m eager to get to work with this remarkable staff and community.”
That isn't the only coaching move that Franklin and Penn State have recently made. The Nittany Lions also recently learned that they were losing offensive analyst and analytics coordinator Calvin Lowry. Lowry is a former Penn State football player as he played under Joe Paterno, and the Nittany Lions needed to find someone to replace him. Franklin found someone for this position quickly as well as Mark Dupuis is coming in as Lowry's replacement. He used to be a graduate assistant for Penn State, and he was coaching at Old Dominion prior to this movie to the Nittany Lions.
“We are back!” Dupuis said in a social media post. “Honored to announce I have accepted a position as an offensive analyst with Coach Franklin and Penn State football. Grateful for this opportunity and excited to get to work.”
This was not the final Penn State coaching move as of late, however, as personnel intern Karsyn Kehler is being promoted to recruiting coordinator for operations and visits. Shannon Wellman had that position, but left after the conclusion of the 2023 season.
The Penn State staff is beginning to be finalized for the 2o24 season. Franklin knows how important this upcoming season is, and he knows that every staff decision is a big one. It seems like a playoff or bust type of season for the Nittany Lions in 2024, so everything this offseason is going to be crucial.
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