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Penn State Hires Stacy Collins As Special Teams Coordinator

Well, it certainly didn’t take long for Penn State to find its next special teams coordinator.

Stacy Collins, who spent the 2021 season as Boise State’s special teams coordinator, will fill the same role with the Nittany Lions in place of Joe Lorig, who’s off to Oregon. Collins will also serve as Penn State’s outside linebackers and nickels coach.

“I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to work under the leadership of Coach Franklin and join the Penn State family,” Collins said in a release. “I look forward to developing and growing our special teams units which has had a history of success during coach’s tenure. I’m also excited to work with Coach Diaz and the defensive staff to continue to build on the strong defensive tradition of Penn State. My family and I can’t wait to start this new chapter in Happy Valley.”

Collins boasts 24 years of collegiate coaching experience, including stints at Utah State (2016 to 2020), South Dakota School of Mines (2012 to 2015), and Portland State (2011). He’s worked on special teams at nearly every stop along the way in his career.

With the Broncos this fall, Collins’ special teams unit blocked three punts and four kicks, which ranks seventh and ninth in the nation, respectively. He helped Boise State kicker Jonah Dalmas earn all-conference honors thanks to a school-record 26 straight field goals, plus a 38-for-39 mark on extra points.

“We are excited to welcome Stacy Collins to Happy Valley,” said James Franklin. “As a veteran coach, Stacy brings a wide variety of experiences to our staff having served as a head coach, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator during his career. He will bring significant value to our program and has a great depth of special teams knowledge and has found great success as a coordinator. His coaching style on special teams will allow us to continue our strong tradition as a special teams unit. I am thrilled to have Stacy, his wife Mandi, and their four daughters join our Penn State Football family.”

Collins’ hire comes just about one day after Lorig officially departed for Oregon, and the two have quite the history together. They were once teammates at Western Oregon, where they both coached. Collins filled in at Utah State one year after Lorig left his post there, too.

Collins will work alongside newly hired defensive coordinator Manny Diaz at Penn State. Together, they’ll aim to rejuvenate a Penn State program that’s coming off of a disappointing 7-6 season and losing a handful of stars to the 2022 NFL Draft.

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About the Author

Matt DiSanto

Matt proudly served as Onward State’s managing editor for two years until graduating from Penn State in May 2022. Now, he’s off in the real world doing real things. Send him an email ([email protected]) or follow him on Twitter (@mattdisanto_) to stay in touch.

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