Penn State losing special teams coordinator Stacy Collins to Boise State
Penn State will have three new coordinators in 2024. Stacy Collins, who took over the Lions’ special teams in 2022, is leaving the school to return to the one he came from: Boise State, Blue-White Illustrated has confirmed. He will be the Broncos’ special teams coordinator, linebackers coach, and assistant head coach, per ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, who first reported the news. The 48-year-old Sutherlin, Ore., native had spent almost all of his coaching career on the West Coast before coming to State College. So, a move back to that part of the country is not a surprise.
Collins led a massive turnaround of the Penn State special teams units in 2023. According to ESPN’s SP+ metric, the Lions finished 67th in the country in that department in 2022. Last year, with transfers Alex Felkins and Riley Thompson leading the way at kicker and punter, respectively, in addition to mid-season punter return replacement Daequan Hardy returning two boots for touchdowns, the Lions finished 28th this year. PFF rated the Penn State special teams even higher. It graded it as the eighth-best unit in the country in 2023, up from 14th the previous year. Both metrics had the Lions’ special teams higher in 2021, the year before Collins took over, compared to 2022. But, the improvement was drastic this past fall.
“Stacy, I’ve been very impressed and pleased with our improvement from the beginning of the season to now,” Lions coach James Franklin said in November. “We’ve improved dramatically on special teams. Our specialists have been more consistent.”
Changes at two spots caused a spark for the Penn State special teams in 2023
Collins credited the players’ growth throughout the season as the reason for the improvements. But, his own changes played a role, as well. Penn State inserted Felkins in for Sander Sahaydak after Week 1, and it worked well, as the former Columbia standout was 19 of 24 with three of the five missed coming from 50 yards or more. Thompson was always the right choice at punter. However, Collins and the staff’s decision to move Hardy into the punt return role in place of incumbent Kaden Saunders coming out of the bye week paid huge dividends. He returned two punts for touchdowns against UMass to give him the most in the nation in 2023 and finished fifth in punt return yards average with 14.59 yards per attempt.
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“I think it’s like anything in football. You sort spring ball and camp, and you got new faces, and there is a process to that,” Collins said. “I give those guys credit for improving every week, and getting better every week, and being able to do that on game days.”
Lions have another position to fill
Penn State coach James Franklin already replaced his offensive and defensive coordinators this offseason. Andy Kotelnicki takes over for the fired Mike Yurcich on offense. Tom Allen is in for Manny Diaz. He left after two highly successful seasons to take the head coaching job at Duke. Now, a special teams coordinator must be found. It will be the fifth leader of that unit in the Franklin era. The newcomer will follow Collins (2022-2023), Joe Lorig (2019-2021), Phil Galiano (2018), Charles Huff (2014-2017).
