After winning his national title for Penn State as a senior in 2012 Frank Molinaro wasted little time working his way into the coaching ranks.

By the start of the very next season, Molinaro was back in his home state of New Jersey, hired an assistant for Rutgers. He spent two seasons there and last season helped produce the Scarlet Knights' first All-American since 2002.

But while he was there, as Molinaro acknowledged earlier this week, he also kept a close eye on Penn State, his former teammates and coaches.

"Oh yeah. I love Penn State," he said when asked if he followed PSU's last two championship runs. "So I was following these guys to see how they were progressing."

This year Molinaro will be back on their side and part of that progress.

How did he get there? Despite coaching the last two seasons, Molinaro never lost his competitive drive. At Rutgers, he continued training, wrestling in freestyle tournaments - all with the goal of earning a spot on the 2016 Olympic team. After the conclusion of last season, Molinaro decided he wanted to take his training to another level.

So Molinaro called up head coach Cael Sanderson, and, "I told him that I wanted to compete still," he said. "I wanted to win and I wanted to compete, so that was a driving force: competing."

So he joined the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, the resident athlete training program at Penn State, at which his training partners could be Olympic medalists and fellow Olympic hopefuls. That's not to mention the regular barrage of international training partners who stop by. (This week, alone, members of the Puerto Rican and Canadian national teams were training with the NLWC.)

On the East Coast, there aren't many practice rooms that are more conducive to an Olympic hopeful's dreams. So even though he had to give up coaching - or so he thought - Molinaro called it a "no-brainer" to return to his alma mater and begin training as a resident athlete.

Rutgers' season finished in March in Oklahoma City, and by April, Molinaro was back in State College, searching for a house and working out in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex.

Over the off-season, however, a coaching vacancy opened, too, after former assistant Nick Fanthorpe left the staff. Penn State didn't have to search far to find his replacement.

Said Molinaro, "When I got back here, things kinda changed a little bit and the coaching opportunity opened up. I'm excited to do both."

And that's what he's been doing. While he trains for his own personal goals, he's also helping Penn State's student-athletes reach theirs. A former 149-pounder who most recently competed at the 70-kilogram (154-pound) weight class in freestyle, Molinaro works out with a wide range of Penn State's wrestlers.

He'll drill with guys as light as 133 - Molinaro said starter Jimmy Gulibon "is probably one of the most talented kids I've wrestled in practice. His shots are explosive and he's super strong. He doesn't get tired, he works hard, he believes he can win and he wants to win." - and he'll work out with guys as heavy as the 157- or 165-pounders. Sometimes even heavier.

As he's coached, Molinaro has found that "teaching other people things will help you, too," so even when he's coaching, Molinaro still finds himself improving toward his own goals.

"Probably once or twice or three times a week, I will come in during the morning and bring in one of the college guys and make them work on what I'm working on," he said. "Then I'll stay after practice and grab (another) guy and make him work on what I'm working on. It also helps (yourself) a lot when you're teaching. That aspect I didn't even realize until I started coaching."

Sanderson has already seen Molinaro's return to Penn State pay dividends, even if it's just in the form of consistency and work ethic.

"Everyday is the same with (Molinaro)," Sanderson said. "Constant, very high intensity. That passion, I think, that is the most important part of coaching. Sharing the passion with the guys, and Molinaro shares his passion every day.

"He loves what he's doing, he loves to train and he's a great asset to the program."