<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3lqiAV_0q1fCqB400" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3lqiAV_0q1fCqB400" width="1765" height="1174" ><figcaption>Head coach James Franklin blows his whistle during warmups before the game between Penn State and Rutgers at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions beat the Scarlett Knights 27-6. Jackson Ranger</figcaption></figure>New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will travel with Penn State to Atlanta as it prepares for the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss.James Franklin said Sunday night that Kotelnicki will be with the team to get a feel for the culture and how things operate, similar to what defensive coordinator Manny Diaz did when he was hired in 2021 ahead of the Outback Bowl.“Andy will be here more just taking everything in … so that literally the day the bowl game ends, he can jump in with both feet and get going,” Franklin said.The offense will work the same as it has since Mike Yurcich was fired. Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle will serve as co-offensive coordinators while Danny O’Brien and Franklin coach the quarterbacks.Franklin said it will be “valuable time” for Kotelnicki, who can get a feel for Penn State’s personnel and start to build relationships with players and coaches.Franklin felt it was important to hire a coordinator that would gel with the existing coaches and players, whom he felt worked very well together in the last two games of the season.“I wanted to make sure that if we brought somebody in, that it was somebody who was going to use those resources, that manpower, that experience that we had in the Lasch Building and take advantage of it,” Franklin said.With 18 years of coaching experience at six different schools, Kotelnicki can be “the head coach” of the offense and float to different position groups similar to an NFL coordinator, Franklin said.Kotelnicki and Kansas coach Lance Leipold have visited Happy Valley several times, where Franklin was able to start developing a relationship with his new coordinator.“For (Kotelnicki) to leave a program and a guy (Leipold) he’d been with for 11 years and had a very, very secure contract, he had to feel good about what he was joining, and I needed to make sure and be thorough in what we were getting,” Franklin said.MORE FOOTBALL COVERAGE</div></body>

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Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki to travel, begin building relationships with team

New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will travel with Penn State to Atlanta as it prepares for the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss. James Franklin said Sunday night that Kotelnicki will be with the team to get a feel for the culture and how things operate, similar to what defensive coordinator Manny Diaz did when he was hired in 2021 ahead of the Outback Bowl.