For the first time in months, Penn State coordinators Andy Kotelnicki, Jim Knowles and Justin Lustig took to the podium inside a construction-ridden Beaver Stadium to discuss the state of the program entering 2025 on Saturday during the Nittany Lions’ local media day.
From standout players to overall team team topics, the trio provided insight into the Nittany Lions’ roster entering a highly anticipated campaign, which begins at the end of the month with a battle against Nevada.
DEPTH CREATING COMPETITION
Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has stacked bodies at every position, looking to create competition throughout the offseason. Kotelnicki said competition is “what this program’s all about.”
“When you have depth at (offensive line), you have depth at the skill positions, really, your imagination becomes the limitation that you have as long as you’re not overextending individuals and asking them to do things that they’re not trained to do,” Kotelnicki said.
Entering his second season at Penn State, Kotelnicki highlighted the QB2 battle specifically, saying he was “impressed” with both Ethan Grunkemeyer and Jaxon Smolik.
Battles are being waged throughout a tight end room looking to replace Mackey winner Tyler Warren as well, with Andrew Rappleyea returning from injury and fighting for ground with Khalil Dinkins, Luke Reynolds and others.
“We have to pull (Rappleyea) back, like we have to kind of grab him and say ‘you don’t need to take this rep.’ He wants to just keep jumping in the front of the line and getting more reps, which I appreciate the motivation to want to do that and get better,” Kotelnicki said. “As soon as he was able to walk and move, he literally wanted to jump into drills.”
Special teams coordinator Justin Lustig echoed that sentiment, saying there are position battles across the board. Notably, Zion Tracy, Trebor Pena and Devonte Ross are competing for the starting punt returner role, while youngsters Tyseer Denmark, Josiah Brown and Koby Howard are also in the mix.
Lustig said kickoff specialist Gabe Nwosu is pushing veteran Riley Thompson for the starting punter role, which Thompson has held the last two seasons. Additionally, freshman kicker Matthew Parker is pushing Ryan Barker for the kicking job.
“We really have returning starters at every position,” Lustig said. “There’s no big question marks on special teams, whether it’s place kick or kickoff, punt, and then we’ve got depth at all those positions as well.”
DEFENSIVE ACCLIMATION
Jim Knowles is widely considered the top defensive coordinator in college football, but he’s been knocked for taking multiple seasons to fully install his scheme. There’s some merit to these claims — at Duke, Oklahoma State and Ohio State, Knowles’ defenses typically made a major jump in his second year.
Entering his first season at Penn State, Knowles thinks he’s refined the installation process and will have the Nittany Lions operating at maximum efficiency this fall.
“If it’s too complicated, or I can’t get it installed in a way that the players pick it up quickly, then that’s my fault,” Knowles said. “So I think I’ve developed a process that helps move it along at a more rapid pace.”
Knowles also takes over a defense that ranked top-10 in both points and yards allowed last season, which can’t be said of any of his previous stops.
DEFENDERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Knowles was complimentary of several players in particular, including linebacker Tony Rojas, who played through an injury for much of last season and missed spring ball because of it.
“Certainly got to watch a lot of film on him, and saw his talent,” Knowles said. “But just in a couple days (of fall camp), very impressed, very impressed. He seems to have developed physically in the offseason. He’s picked things up quickly, which is tough to do when you don’t get the reps on the field.”
Defensive tackle Alonzo Ford Jr. is another player who missed the spring with an injury. Through two practices, Knowles already identified him as a difference-maker.
“Really impressed with him in the first few days, really impressed,” Knowles said. “And you know, the coaches said good things about him, I did not get to see him actually do it, and he’s really jumped out at me the first couple days.”
On the back end, Knowles called the cornerbacks “the real strength of our defense” and praised coach Terry Smith for his work with the room. The Nittany Lions return starter A.J. Harris, who’s earning first-round draft buzz, and experienced players Zion Tracy, Elliot Washington II and Audavion Collins, all vying for time.