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Trace McSorley is back at Penn State; what’s his new role with the Lions?

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•about 9 hours•

GregPickel

Trace McSorley
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Days after Pat Kraft, who enters his third year as the Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, made headlines over the weekend when he suggested at THON that Trace McSorley, who served as the event’s pep rally emcee, was on the verge of joining the football staff, per Onward State, McSorley is now in the school’s directory. He is listed as a football offensive analyst.

McSorley has been around head coach James Franklin’s program plenty since graduating following the 2018 season. He has spent the last three years on various NFL practice squads but has not been on an active pro roster since 2022. He has also not retired from the league. But, he is now joining Franklin’s staff ahead of a 2025 season that sees the Lions as a top five team, and No. 1 in some early media polls, and can help Andy Kotelnicki, Danny O’Brien, and Franklin in the quarterbacks room, among other tasks.

Penn State has been seeking at least one more analyst ahead of spring practice.

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Reviewing Penn State staff movement to date during the 2025 offseason

Defensive coordinator Tom Allen is the first staffer who left the Lions this offseason. He did so to take the same job at Clemson. Penn State pried Jim Knowles away from the defending national champs, Ohio State, to replace him. In February, running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider moved on after seven seasons to take a job at Notre Dame. Former Temple head coach Stan Drayton is replacing him. He is speaking after Kraft today in State College for the first time as a Nittany Lion.

Penn State has so far lost one member of its recruiting staff. Khalil Ahmad is now the associate general manager at Temple, per his Twitter bio.

As of Feb. 24, Penn State still seeks Ahmad’s replacement.

Three support staffers who came to Penn State with Allen — his son Thomas Allen plus Zach Terrill and Jeff McInerney — are all gone. Additionally, former analyst Robb Smith is now the co-defensive coordinator and play caller on that side of the ball at Rutgers.

As for new additions at Penn State, Shane Eachus and Brent Zdebski are both here after working previously with Knowles. The Lions also hired two new defensive line helpers. Letterman Greg Gattuso is back in town after 11 seasons as Albany’s head coach. And, former Penn State graduate assistant Andrew Jackson is back after a stint at West Virginia.

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