How Penn State Shook Up Spring Practice: 'Everybody's Got a Point to Prove'

The Nittany Lions say spring drills have been more physical this year, a change players have embraced.

Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen guides the Nittany Lions through spring drills in State College. / Max Ralph/AllPennState

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Penn State’s first public showcase of the 2024 roster is just days away. And when the Nittany Lions take the field at 2 p.m. Saturday for the Blue-White Game, their sidelines will look different. Coach James Franklin’s trio of new coordinators has shaken up plenty this spring, particularly in terms of physicality, with a veteran-heavy roster.

“This year has been a lot more physical this spring. But these guys have embraced it. They're buying in. They're 100 percent all-in to what we're teaching, and it's been a great spring,” associate head coach/cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said this week. “It's been one of the best springs we've had in my 11 years here. Our guys are hungry and they're sponges, and we just want to keep giving them more so they can continue to learn and grow and get better.”

Franklin said, despite some bumps and bruises, the physical spring has paid dividends and Penn State expects to run a traditional spring game format Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and defensive coordinator Tom Allen, both extremely demonstrative on the practice field, have contributed greatly to the mindset change.

“I think their energy, with our team's energy, has been really good,” Franklin said. “I think specifically on the offensive side of the ball, those guys have really been drawn to Andy's personality and his confidence. I think Tom is continuing a tradition here of playing hard, physical defense and running to the football. But I think so far, so good with both of them. I know they've been impressed with our guys and kind of the culture of how we practice and how we compete.”

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Kotelnicki has revamped how Penn State’s offensive staff operates, staying hands-on with each position group throughout the spring as he begins to create a “really different” offense, as players have described it. On top of his consistent work with the quarterbacks, Kotelnicki frequently pops in with other position groups, a benefit of having graduate assistant Danny O’Brien on staff as the designated quarterbacks coach. Kotelnicki, whose coaching background trends toward the offensive line and tight ends, even gets around to see the big guys up close more than past coordinators.

“Having an offensive coordinator that can poke around different rooms, see what's going on and explain what he wants from a schematic standpoint is pretty impressive and easy for us to gel into,” said offensive lineman Nick Dawkins, who has become a vocal leader and seems likely to slot atop the depth chart at center.

Kotelnicki has held votes for “coach of the day,” excluding himself, during spring ball. According to tight ends coach Ty Howle, the winner gets to add a song to the coaching staff’s playlist, and Kotelnicki buys coffee the next morning. The offensive coordinator has worked hard to build relationships through his short tenure.

“He's a baller, man. He'll come out and he's just he's just a ball guy. You gotta love that,” Dawkins said. “The guy has just ingrained himself within the game, cares so much about us and cares so much about our scheme. He makes it easy for us to understand. He's a natural teacher.”

Added Howle, "The way I kind of view [install] and like Coach K talks about, we're taking Lego pieces right now and piecing them together to build a castle."

On defense, Allen has adapted well to being a coordinator again after his tenure as the head coach at Indiana, aside from suppressing his instinct to blow the whistle at practice. Allen joked that it’s been a hard habit to kick, as his whistle was the soundtrack to the Lions’ first few spring practices. 

But Allen’s arrival after Manny Diaz’s departure has been smooth, especially considering they run similar defensive schemes.

“Tom has been exceptional. He's brought in a system, his character, who he is as a person, his foundation of a man — he carries that into every meeting with our guys and with our staff,” Smith said. “He's been a great leader. We all have bought into the system that we're running, and our guys are practicing very hard for him. And that's a testament to him, his character and what he's brought.”

Third-year defensive tackle Zane Durant has worked often against guys like Dawkins throughout this spring, agreeing that physicality has increased. He has been impressed by the way the roster is battling through spring.

“We don't have too many young guys, like we usually have in the past, but we've been going to war every day,” Durant said. “We're all on the same chord here. We're trying to bring home one of the big ones, you know I'm saying? Everybody's got a point to prove. We took it a little personal this year.”

Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.