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Two more Penn State analysts will not return to the Nittany Lions in 2025

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•about 17 hours•

GregPickel

NCAA Football: Orange Bowl-Notre Dame at Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin leads the team out before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. (Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

Penn State will have more turnover in its analysts’ room ahead of the 2025 season. That was a given the moment reports surfaced that Tom Allen would be leaving his post as the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator after just one season to take the same job at Clemson as his son, Thomas, was an analyst under his dad in State Collge and now will have the same role on the Tigers’ staff. However, two more staffers who came to town when Allen did before the 2024 season are also not returning to head coach James Franklin’s program in 2025.

Analysts Jeffrey McInerney and Zach Terrill are both not returning to Penn State after just one season, a program source confirmed to Blue-White Illustrated. Each came to Penn State with Allen. The former was on his Indiana staff. And, the latter had connections to the play caller that made him an easy fit with the Nittany Lions. Whether or not either or both will now go to Clemson, too, is not yet clear. But, at the very least, they will not be back with PSU.

Penn State will have at least three new analysts in 2025, and maybe more. It goes without saying that the new defensive coordinator will almost certainly bring a staffer or two with him. That has become the norm across college football. They are key when it comes to teaching current players and staff the new system and blending what the Lions already do with what the newcomer does. And, thanks to a rule change before last season, they can also coach on the field during practices and games.

More: Another top linebacker target confirms he’ll be back at Penn State soon

“Honestly, we’re going to maximize it as much as we possibly can,” Franklin said in Aug. 2024 when asked about the analyst rule change. “And the rules allow you to have some flexibility. They really do. So we’re going to look at that. We want to make sure that we’re taking advantage of the horsepower that we have, and the manpower that we have, but make sure that we don’t have too many voices in too many rooms. And, when there are different voices, ultimately, we better all be speaking the same language and singing the same song and singing it the same tune.

“I do think you have to be strategic about it. You got to be smart. We talked about this the last few days [on the staff retreat], about making sure everybody in the room understands, we’re going to maximize our personnel. But, don’t just think because of the rule change that you’re coaching, because you have to prove that you’re ready for that.”

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