UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State filled three empty positions on the coaching staff after hiring its new running backs coach, Stan Drayton.
The highlight of the hirings was none other than the return of legendary former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley.
Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft had teased the letterman’s return during THON 2025’s Pep Rally, but in the heat of the moment, many pushed the news to the side as a joke.
To everyone’s delight, McSorley was confirmed as the newest assistant quarterbacks coach on Tuesday, Feb. 25, through a Penn State football tweet.
McSorley will team up with Danny O’Brien, the head quarterbacks coach, for the 2025 season. There are not many people in the world that know what it’s like to be Penn State’s QB1 during the social media era, but McSorely is one of them. His experience wearing blue and white will be useful for Drew Allar heading into his senior season.
Another hire, also on Tuesday, Feb. 25, was the replacement for former recruiting coordinator Khalil Ahmad. Ahmad left for Temple in early February to be the associate general manager of personnel and recruitment.
The Nittany Lions will replace him with the head coach of New Jersey’s Malcolm X Shabazz High School, Naz Oliver. He also spent time in the same role with Saint Peter’s Prep, his alma mater.
The former Tennesee Volunteer has deep roots in the New Jersey and greater Tri-state area. His boost to recruiting on the East Coast is similar to that of Ahmad’s, keeping the recruiting footprint similar.
More news from Tuesday, Feb. 25, noted Dan Connor has been promoted from defensive analyst to linebackers coach, per the staff directory.
Connor has had a fast ride up the coaching ranks, starting as a linebackers coach at West Chester University just 10 years ago. His promotion comes after former defensive coordinator Tom Allen left for Clemson. Allen was in charge of the linebackers during his time in Happy Valley.
Connor is Penn State’s all-time leader in tackles and was a two-time All-American as a linebacker in Happy Valley.
With three roles filled up, some fans still expect to hear about the hiring of a general manager in the coming weeks.
The general manager is new for Penn State in 2025 and comes as a follow to the change in scholarships and NIL. The general managers are responsible for everything from day-to-day operations to dealing with the finances of NIL. Kraft talked about the potential for the GM at a press conference on Monday, Feb. 24.
“A lot of these general managers that you’re seeing hired have full roster discretion. I’ll leave that out there. You know that’s hard in college sports, meaning, meaning they’re choosing the players much like the pros,” Kraft said. “I don’t, I don’t agree with that. I do not think that’s right. They’re coming here because they’re going to play for the coaches and James Franklin’s football program.”
While Kraft doesn’t believe Penn State needs a traditional NFL general manager, he did note that he would not be afraid to hire someone willing to work with head coach James Franklin.
“I would not put it past James and us to have a GM at some point. We’re hiring more data analytics folks in the office because we’ve got to. I have to manage the entire 20.5 and the fair market value, NIL and we’ve got to make sure that we’re all aligned.”
