STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — It looks like Penn State has filled its vacant offensive coordinator position.
Several sources are reporting that Nittany Lions coach James Franklin has lured Andy Kotelnicki away from Kansas to run the offense in Happy Valley.
Kotelnicki's imminent hiring was first reported by Bruce Feldman, a reporter for The Athletic, and confirmed by Pennlive.
An innovative playcaller, Kotelnicki replaces Mike Yurcich, who was fired after Penn State fell to Michigan last month. He is the sixth offensive coordinator in Franklin's 11-year tenure on the Lions' sidelines.
Kotelnicki, 43, is a former Division III player at Wisconsin-River Falls. He broke into coaching with his alma mater, spent two seasons at the University of Mary, a Division II school in North Dakota, then took over the offense at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he helped the Warhawks win back-to-back national championships in 2013 and 2014 under Lance Leipold, whom he followed to Buffalo in 2015 and Kansas in 2021.
The Jayhawks averaged 35.6 points per game last season and 33.6 points per game this year with Kotelnicki in control. Kansas is known for employing pre-snap motion and movements to confuse defenses, spreading the ball around to multiple running backs and receivers, and generating explosive "chunk" plays of 20 yards or more.
Kotelnicki takes over a Penn State offense that has lacked that sort of explosiveness in recent seasons. Since the departure of former coordinator Joe Moorhead in 2017, the Lions' attack has stagnated a bit under Ricky Rahne in 2017-19, Kirk Ciarocca in 2020 and Yurcich's two-year tenure.
When Penn State failed to beat Ohio State and Michigan this year -- and its offense managed just 27 total points in those losses -- the majority of the blame was laid at Yurcich's feet.
The Lions have some intriguing pieces in place once Kotelnicki arrives; quarterback Drew Allar is expected to return, along with running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
If Penn State can land a big-play receiver or two, either through its high school recruiting pipeline or via the transfer portal, the Lions might be able to finally get over the hump in an expanded Big Ten Conference field.
At least, that's what Franklin and the rest of Happy Valley are hoping for.