Entering the 2025 season, few programs in college football can make a legitimate argument that they have a better offensive and defensive coordinator combination than Penn State.
On the offensive side of the ball, Andy Kotelnicki is widely considered one of the most creative minds in the sport. In his first season on the headset, the Nittany Lions' offense became a more dynamic and explosive unit.
Defensively, Penn State made a major splash this past winter by nabbing Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. They made him the highest-paid coordinator in college athletics with a contract worth over $3 million per year. Knowles helped lead Ohio State to a national championship in 2024 behind the nation’s top-ranked defense.
With a new coordinator comes a new scheme, and this spring Penn State continues to work through the process of installing Jim Knowles's scheme. Installing a new system can be lengthy and time-consuming as players adjust to their playbook, terminology, roles, and more. That said, with just a few spring practices remaining, Knowles believes the defense is making strong progress.
"I’d say we’ve gotten to a good solid, over 50 percent, 60 percent," Knowles said. "I think we’ve made a lot of progress in a short time."
A major reason for that success early on within the transition can likely be traced back to Knowles's system not being a completely fresh start. This offseason, in hopes of making it a smooth transition for the Nittany Lions, Knowles blended concepts from the Nittany Lions' defenses of the past few seasons with his concepts. Additionally, the Nittany Lions' defense was predicated on the 4-2-5 this past fall, and under Knowles, that is expected to remain the same.
"They’re very good here on defense, so we’re using what we can and trying to keep things in similar terms for the players," Knowles said. "I’m happy with the progress."
While the Nittany Lions' defense is still adjusting to their new system, the offense and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki are experiencing a different challenge this spring, taking the next step from what they built in 2024.
In 2024, the Nittany Lions offense was a strong but not elite unit, but now, entering year two within the system and the continuity across several key positions, including quarterback Drew Allar, the running back duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, as well as a handful of returning contributors. The second year in the Kotelnicki offensive system, with more confidence and familiarity, could result in another step forward this fall.
After going through a similar experience last spring, Andy Kotelnicki, now with an experienced unit, has been able to open up the playbook this spring, challenging the Nittany Lions' defense in the process.
"Yeah, it’s more than I’ve ever gone against in a spring," Knowles told reporters on Tuesday about facing the offense. "To be quite honest with you. And I try to tell that to the defensive guys that this helps us because our offense is so multiple and creative," he added. "The formations and the different things that they do are really challenging."
"When you put in a basic call, it has to be able to adjust against everything when you’re going against Andy and our offense, it gives us a lot of good tape to be able to watch this summer, you know, with the players to teach," he added about the experience.
While Knowles and Kotelnicki have chess matches on the field, their working relationship extends beyond the practice field and into the meeting room.
"Andy and I have a really good relationship," Knowles said. "It's good you bring that up because we work together a lot in exchanging ideas. So we do talk a lot, probably more than anyone I've ever met."
Knowles and Kotelnicki will hope that their chess matches on the practice field pay off this fall when the Nittany Lions look to take the next step in 2025 after falling one win short of competing for the national championship last season.
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