Penn State special teams coordinator shaped by background as educator

New Penn State assistant Stacy Collins wanted to stress the essence of his approach to the role of special teams coordinator.

Meeting with the media Wednesday for the first time since taking over for Joe Lorig last month, the journeyman coach supplied his reputable energy and enthusiasm to every answer.

But when asked what to expect from his style and influence over the third co-equal element of the game, Collins pointed to the fundamental notion of providing valuable, personalized, effective instruction.

“My background is in education, so to me, coaching is all about teaching. So we’re gonna hang our hat on being great teachers,” Collins said. “The game of football changes. The schematics change, but the teaching (is) key to it.

“Be great teachers, have unbelievable energy with it, let these kids have fun doing it, and finding that hidden yardage and making big plays to help this team win football games.”

An influential colleague

Owning degrees in physical education and a master’s in education, with a 24-year career in coaching, Collins knows it well. 

Carving out a niche for himself as a special teams guru throughout his career in football, a linebacker during his playing days at Western Oregon, Collins intends to bring that experience and effectiveness with him to Penn State.

Calling the opportunity exciting to work with head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions, a “true blue blood program,” Collins’ connection isn’t far removed from the man he’s replacing.

Their college playing careers at Western Oregon overlapped, Lorig a corner in ’94-’95 while Collins played linebacker. Also spending time as GAs together, they shared stops at Idaho State (’05-’06) and Central Washington (’08-’10). As such, the two have remained friends. 

More, Collins said, their shared expertise in special teams creates an intimate fraternity in itself. At one point noting his intent for special teams to “change the game” under his direction, the oft-used mantra from Lorig is likely to bridge the two tenures.

“We’re friends, and obviously within this coaching profession, special teams is a small world out there. So we exchanged ideas, thoughts,” Collins said. “There will be a lot of things that are similar in a lot of ways. And I certainly did talk to Joe and nothing but unbelievable things to say about Penn State, Coach Franklin, this staff, and this area.”

Next steps for Collins at Penn State

Arriving from a one-year stint at Boise State, Collins has settled in after a month in and out for recruiting. Gearing up for spring practices, Collins is looking forward to spending more time with his specialists in a practice setting.

An opportunity expanding to the larger special teams units, Collins said the impact will come in a variety of forms.

“We want to be able to develop players on and off the field that can change the game in all facets and win the hidden yardage that’s out there,” he said. “We want to do that by being fundamentally sound, technically sound, doing it with great energy, having fun while we’re doing it, and making plays… that allow this team to win football games.”

In his most recent stops, that specifically took on two primary iterations.

Credited with helping to develop a first-team All-Mountain West Conference kicker in Boise State’s Jonah Dalmas last season, the effort came on the heels of other notable kicking specialists. Utah State kicker Dominik Eberle was also an All-MWC pick, at Portland State, Zach Brown was an FCS All-American, and punter Mike Koenen from Western Washington enjoyed a 10-year career. 

Meanwhile, blocks have also been a mainstay of Collins’ special teams units. Producing seven combined blocks and kicks last season with the Broncos, two blocked punts were returned for touchdowns.

Collins stressed that priorities will vary based on personnel, but the quest to find those strengths will be persistent.

“We’ve been extremely aggressive in our punt block, punt return schemes over the years,” Collins said. “Certainly, you gotta factor that into what the strength of the team is.

“There are years that we’ve led the nation in kick return. Sometimes you don’t have that skill set or those guys in it. There have been years that we’ve been unbelievable from a field goal unit. There are years that maybe you’re not in that situation, where you’ve got to maybe take some more chances. We’ve been aggressive in a lot of areas, trying to stay cutting edge with what we’re doing.”