Why are Andy Kotelnicki and Drew Allar returning to Penn State in 2025?

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is returning to the Nittany Lions in 2025. He announced that news back on Dec. 9 while reportedly in the running for the top job at West Virginia.

“Beyond lucky to be a part of the Penn State Football Family,” Kotelnicki wrote on Twitter. “Still a lot to accomplish this season and I am looking forward to what 2025 has in store for our program!”

On Monday, Kotelnicki addressed why he wants to return to the Nittany Lions for at least one more season for the first time.

“It’s a good question,” Kotelnicki said. “Just what’s going on here, right? I enjoy, first and foremost, the players that I get to coach on a daily basis. And, working with Coach Franklin has been awesome. And the staff that I work with is elite. So, just a really easy decision.”

Penn State has the No. 15 total offense in the nation. It has the No. 25 scoring offense. The Nittany Lions also have the nation’s No. 15 third down offense. Tyler Warren is the Big Ten tight end of the year and has made multiple All-American teams. And, Kotelnicki will have starting quarterback Drew Allar back, as well. The junior said Monday that he will be back for his senior season in State College.

Why is Allar coming back?

Here’s what he had to say:

“For me personally, it was a football decision, and I felt like it was best for my future,” Allar said. “I’m glad I got that out of the way. It was a personal and football decision. I felt like it was in my best interest.

“Extensive talks with my family, and my agent, and Coach Franklin. There wasn’t a party that was left out of it. In terms of the decision, my sole focus these last weeks has been focused on our upcoming opponents. And obviously this week it’s SMU, and obviously, with the schedule of NCAA football, it’s kind of insane decision making wise with everything and what point we are at in the season.

“But for me, I’m totally focused on SMU, just because they’re a really talented team. Obviously they earned their right to be in the Playoffs, just as we have. And you know, they’re a really good team, so I just look forward to the opportunity that we have ahead of us on playing in Beaver Stadium again this Saturday.”

Penn State coach James Franklin talks Kotelnicki’s return

The 11th-year leader of the Lions was also asked to evaluate what it means to him that his offensive coordinator took his name out of the mix to leave while locking in for another season in State College.

“Obviously, being able to retain staff and specifically in coordinator positions is really important, and I think about how hard we worked this off-season to make sure that having three new coordinators wasn’t going to create more challenges and be a setback for us,” Franklin said. “And I think we’ve done a good job of that. But I think there’s also an excitement about what we can do moving forward, thinking about what we had to do this off season, and now we have a foundation to build on. I think there’s a lot of excitement about that. I also think, you know, Andy, like Brent Pry and some others realize that we’re in a great position. We’re in a top 10, make the argument, top five program in college football, with what we’ve been able to do here. And there’s power that comes with that. At the end of the day, are you happy? Are you doing it at a good place with good people? And, can you win?

“And I think Andy and his family feel like we’re in a really good position, and he can wait and take the right job. There’s power in that. So you know, between myself, and Pat Kraft, and the administration, we want to do everything we possibly can to keep the staff in place and continue to build and grow. So you know that decision was big for a lot of reasons, right? It’s big because you don’t want to be dealing with this during the Playoff run. You don’t want to be dealing with this when you’ve got players deciding what their futures are. Obviously, these men and women impact that, too. So for a lot of reasons, it’s been good.”