Tag: Ty Howle

Class of 2025 tight end Brian Kortovich flips commitment to Penn State

Penn State flipped a three-star tight end from another Big Ten program just before early signing period for Class of 2025.

With one day remaining before early National Signing Day gets underway, Penn State was able to make a late move by flipping one of their targets.

In a social media post, tight end [autotag]Brian Kortovich[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions. That came just two days after he decommitted from Purdue following his official visit to Happy Valley this past weekend for the finale against Maryland.

Rated as a three-star prospect in the 2025 cycle, he has been someone on Penn State’s radar for a while after he camped for them. At that time, though, there wasn’t a ton of interest from the Nittany Lions, but as things continued to progress and [autotag]Andrew Olesh[/autotag] committed to Michigan, the relationships continued to progress.

“The environment was awesome! Obviously with it being Thanksgiving weekend and the weather, the stadium wasn’t as packed as usual but it did not disappoint,” Kortovich told Sean Fitz of BlueWhiteIllustrated. “What continues to excite me is just the relationships I’ve built in one weekend whether it be with the coaches, the staff or the players.”

The Ohio native might not pop in the rankings like others Penn State have been able to land at that position in recent years, but there is a lot of optimism about what he can turn into.

As he continued to put on weight, that’s when tight ends coach [autotag]Ty Howle[/autotag] really took note and got the Nittany Lions back involved until this flip was made.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, his athletic profile reportedly grades out similarly to their past commitments, a good sign for what could come during his tenure.

What that means regarding the recruitment of Olesh isn’t clear.

Penn State could still pull off the flip, something they are pushing really hard to do, but they weren’t willing to wait around and miss out on Kortovich.

Penn State still in the mix for top five tight end

Penn State hopes to land big commitment from former Notre Dame tight end commit.

The recruitment of elite class of 2025 tight end [autotag]Nate Roberts[/autotag] will certainly be one to monitor throughout the spring and summer.

Despite some analysts of 247Sports putting Crystal Ball picks in that the four-star will eventually land with Ohio State, there’s been some information shared by Tom Loy of 247Sports that Penn State is still a major contender Roberts (subscription required).

The tight end prospect is a 6’4″ 235-pound native of Oklahoma who is ranked as the 119th player in the 2025 class and No. 5 overall at his position by On3’s Industry Ranking.

He was once committed to Notre Dame before reopening his recruiting process.

According to Loy, he has narrowed his choices to the five schools of Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, and Oklahoma.

Roberts will be taking a visit to Oregon this weekend after previously visiting Ohio State.

Again, the Buckeyes are seen as the massive favorites to land him based on those Crystal Ball picks and On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine giving Ohio State a 74.5% chance pick up a commitment.

But he told Loy that he really likes Penn State and has developed a great relationship with tight ends coach [autotag]Ty Howle[/autotag]. He’s been impressed with how the Nittany Lions develop tight ends and thinks they would be a great option for him with his NFL aspirations based on that development and usage rate.

[autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] has played a major role in the recruitment of Roberts as well, making the tight end feel like he’s a top priority.

The plan is for Roberts to decide on his collegiate program before the start of his senior season in the fall. This will allow him to focus on playing his final year of high school football and then he’ll enroll with his university in January 2025.

Penn State has hired Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, per reports

The search for Penn State’s next offensive coordinator is reportedly over!

It seems as though the search for Penn State’s next offensive coordinator has come to an end. While no official statement has come from Penn State just yet, it is being widely reported that Penn State has hired Kansas offensive coordinator [autotag]Andy Kotelnicki[/autotag] to fill the vacancy on Penn State’s coaching staff for the same position.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic was among the first to report the news, via X (formerly known as Twitter). His initial report was confirmed by a couple of other reputable reporters, including Adam Rittenberg of ESPN and Brett McMurphy of The Action Network. It was reported earlier this week James Franklin had a meeting with Kotelnicki, who is considered a hot name in the coaching carousel at this moment. It is also reported that Kotelnicki has a desire to one day be a head coach, and it is worth noting Franklin has had three coordinators in recent years go on to become a head coach (Joe Moorhead, Ricky Rahne, and Brent Pry).

Kotelnicki has been a key member of the coaching staff led by Kansas head coach Lance Leipold since Leipold’s time with Division 3 powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater. Leipold hired Kotelnick to be his offensive coordinator at Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2013, after Kotelnicki spent two seasons with Division 2 University of Mary. Kotelnicki followed Leipold to Buffalo in 2015 and continued to serve in the role of offensive coordinator for six seasons with the Bulls. When Leipold left Buffalo to take the Kansas coaching job, Kotelnicki followed him to Lawrence.

Kotelnicki has helped transform the entire offensive identity at Kansas. Kansas had the nation’s 126th-ranked total offense out of 127 in the FBS during the 2020 season and the 90th-ranked total offense in 2019, the last season before the pandemic impacted the 2020 season. With Kotelnicki running the offense, Kansas has seen its total offensive rank jump from 114th in 2021 up to 29th this season.

For the sake of comparison, Penn State’s total offensive ranks were 82nd in 2020, 34th in 2021 (2 behind Kansas), and 62nd this season.

Kotelnicki will replace [autotag]Mike Yurcich[/autotag], who was let go a day after Penn State lost at home to Michigan late in the regular season. [autotag]Ja’Juan Seider[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Howle[/autotag] have split the playcalling duties on offense in the last two games of the season, and it may be safe to expect both to continue calling the offensive plays for Penn State’s upcoming bowl game, with Kotelnicki likely to run the Jayhawks offense for their bowl game. But those details remain unconfirmed and are just speculation at this stage.

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6 offensive coordinator candidates for Penn State

Six suggestions for Penn State’s new offensive coordinator.

After another offensive performance that lacked explosion and creativity, leading to a 24-15 loss to Michigan on Saturday, Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] reiterated that the offense must get better.

Not even 24 hours after the defeat, it was announced by Penn State that offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Mike Yurcich[/autotag] was relieved of his duties early Sunday afternoon. Penn State confirmed that [autotag]Ja’Juan Seider[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Howle[/autotag] will take over playcalling duties for the rest of the season.

The firing marks the third offensive coordinator that Franklin has fired in his ten years at State College. The next coordinator will be the sixth to coach under Franklin. Needless to say, this is a pivotal hire and could be Franklin’s last if this hire doesn’t pan out.

Let’s take a look at a very early shortlist (in no particular order) of possible candidates for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State fires offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich

Penn State makes a rare major in-season coaching staff change after losing to Michigan.

After a frustrating loss at home to the Michigan Wolverines showcased Penn State’s inability to create any consistent offensive pressure, the Nittany Lions have reportedly made a major coaching staff change on Sunday. Offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Yurcich[/autotag] has reportedly been removed from the staff. Jon Sauber of the Centre Daily Times was among the first to report the news of this significant coaching staff change on Sunday afternoon.

According to a report from Football Scoop, co-offensive coordinator [autotag]Ja’Juan Seider[/autotag] is expected to take over the offensive playcalling for the remainder of the season. This would make the most sense for now. Whether James Franklin keeps Seider as his primary offensive coordinator in 2024 will remain to be seen.

UPDATE: Penn State has officially confirmed the removal of Yurcich as offensive coordinator and has confirmed Seider and [autotag]Ty Howle[/autotag] will take over interim offensive coordinator duties for the remainder of the season.

Yurcich joined the Penn State coaching staff as the offensive coordinator in 2021 after one season in the same role at Texas. Yurcich became available following a head coaching change at Texas and it was thought to be a solid addition to the coaching staff. Yurcich, a former offensive coordinator at Shippensburg, Edinboro, Oklahoma State, and Ohio State, was in his third season with the Nittany Lions and a significant reason why [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] committed to the program. Despite being in his first season as Penn State’s starting quarterback, the offense overall has seemingly been stuck in neutral and unable to show any signs of improvement in the past three years despite a supposed upgrade in roster talent.

Penn State’s offense still managed to be effective against most opponents well enough to not have to worry about a game’s result, but the failings of the offense against legitimate Big Ten contenders and top-ranked teams were exposed on an annual basis against Ohio State and Michigan. In Yurcich’s three seasons as the offensive coordinator, Penn State went 0-6 against the Buckeyes and Wolverines, and the lack of offensive consistency was a primary factor in those outings, especially this season.

Penn State makes the offensive coordinator change with the Nittany Lions ranked 74th nationally in total offense, 46th in rushing offense, and 90th in passing offense.

Penn State will now look for a new offensive coordinator, which will be the sixth under head James Franklin at Penn State.

Penn State has two remaining regular season games. The Nittany Lions will host Rutgers this week for a noon Eastern kickoff on FS1 on Saturday, Nov. 18.

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