Penn State’s first-year offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead has transformed the Nittany Lion offense and is now, one of 40 nominees for the Broyles Award, which annually recognizes the nation’s top assistant coach from a pool of nearly 1,500.
Moorhead nears the end of his first season at the helm of the offense following former coordinator John Donovan who was fired following Penn State’s season finale loss to Michigan State last season, Moorhead has orchestrated Penn State’s new found offensive efficiency this season that has the Nittany Lions averaging 35.8 points per game — a 54-percent increase from last season’s 23.2 clip. Penn State’s 4,693 yards of total offense has already surpassed 2015 (4,529) with at least two games left on the schedule.
Fellow Big Ten coaches nominated for the Broyles Award include: Indiana DC Tom Allen, Michigan DC/LBs coach Don Brown, Nebraska linebackers coach Trent Bray, Ohio State special teams coordinator/cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs, and Wisconsin DC/LBs coach Justin Wilcox. Some of the notable past winners since 1996 are Tom Herman (2014), Pat Narduzzi (2013), and Kirby Smart (2009).
Five finalists will be selected ahead of a Tuesday, Dec. 6 ceremony in Little Rock, Ark. Penn State has never had an assistant coach tabbed as a finalist, but former defensive coordinator Bob Shoop was nominated in 2014.
