Penn State hires Justin Lustig as new special teams coordinator; what other position will he coach?
Penn State has officially hired Justin Lustig to be its new special teams coordinator. The Erie, Pa., native replaces Stacy Collins, who left the Lions to return to Boise State in the same role.
“We are thrilled to welcome Justin, his wife, Beth, and sons, Samuel and Henry, to our Penn State Football family,” Lions coach James Franklin. “I have followed Justin’s career closely and have been thoroughly impressed with the way his special teams units have consistently performed. He’s spent 19 seasons as a special teams coordinator and also brings valuable experience from a very successful stint as a head coach. Justin is a Pennsylvania guy who will fit in well within our organization and this Happy Valley community.”
Lustig comes to Penn State after spending the last three seasons at Vanderbilt. He was the Commodores associate head coach, special teams coordinator, and tight ends coach. With the Lions, his title is outside linebackers and nickels coach. A Bucknell alum, Lustig has also worked held FBS-level jobs at Louisiana Lafayette, Ball State, and Syracuse. D2Football.com also named him its 2016 head coach of the year after his only season as the leader of Edinboro. He took the PSAC program from 0-11 to 9-2.
“Growing up in Pennsylvania I have long held the Penn State program as the gold standard of college football,” Lustig said. “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.”
Lustig is the third new coordinator hire by James Franklin this offseason. He joins Andy Kotelnicki. He takes over the offense. And Tom Allen is the new defensive coordinator.
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More on new Penn State special teams coordinator Justin Lustig
Lustig earned his first special teams coordinator job at Christopher Newport way back in 2004. He’s also held that title at Eastern Illinois, Louisiana Lafayette, Ball State, Syracuse. And, most recently, with the Commodores. His kicking, punting, coverage, and return teams have almost always been somewhere between great and elite.
“During his career, Lustig has mentored 53 all-conference selections, including the 2018 Lou Groza Award recipient, Andre Szmyt, 2023 Ray Guy Award finalist Matthew Hayball and two-time All-SEC long snapper Wesley Schelling,” his Vanderbilt bio says. “He has also coached in three bowl games, two FCS playoffs and three Division III playoff appearances.
“Lustig has been instrumental in the development of special teams over his Vanderbilt tenure. The 2023 and 2022 seasons saw Vanderbilt rank 41st and 44th, respectively, in ESPN’s Special Teams Efficiency. This was after Lustig inherited a unit that ranked outside the top 100 in FBS the season before his arrival. As a team in 2023, Vanderbilt was one of 20 programs in the country to block multiple punts and finished 11th nationally in net punting.”
At Syracuse, Lustig’s unit set the school season record for fewest opponent punt returns with nine in 2017. Over his career, there has been success in the return game, as well. He will bring creativity in that department to State College. And he’s proven adept at recruiting quality specialists.
