Penn State special teams coordinator Stacy Collins leaving for Boise State as staff turnover continues

Penn State will enter the 2024 season with three new coordinators.

Stacy Collins, the Nittany Lions’ special teams coordinator the last two years, is leaving. Collins is expected to be hired as Boise State’s special teams coordinator, linebackers coach and assistant head coach, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

Collins, who also served as Penn State’s outside linebackers coach, is the latest example of the Nittany Lions’ offseason of coaching staff turnover.

Back in November, James Franklin fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich after the Nittany Lions’ loss to Michigan. Franklin replaced Yurcich with Kansas play-caller Andy Kotelnicki. And in early December, defensive coordinator Manny Diaz left to become Duke’s head coach. A couple weeks later, Franklin hired former Indiana head coach Tom Allen to run the defense.

Collins’ move wasn’t as telegraphed as Yurcich’s fate or Diaz’s decision, but it makes sense. Collins coached out west his entire career before joining Penn State.

Collins, an Oregon native, was Boise State’s special teams coordinator during the 2021 campaign and spent five years coaching at Utah State from 2016-20. Before he joined the FBS ranks, Collins had stints at South Dakota Mines, Portland State and more FCS programs.

Collins led a turnaround for Penn State’s special teams unit this past season. According to ESPN’s SP+ metric — an advanced statistics ranking — the Nittany Lions finished 67th in the FBS in special teams in 2022. Comparatively, Penn State finished 28th this year.

The Nittany Lions’ special teams unit passed the eye test, too, in 2023. FAU transfer Riley Thompson was a pleasant surprise at punter. Columbia transfer Alex Felkins was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in his lone year in Happy Valley. And Daequan Hardy, who became Penn State’s punt returner midseason, returned two kicks for touchdowns.

“I’ve been very impressed and pleased with our improvement from the beginning of the season to now,” Franklin said in November of the special teams unit. “We’ve improved dramatically on special teams. Our specialists have been more consistent.”

Now, Franklin will look to find that consistency in a special teams coordinator elsewhere.

As for personnel, the Nittany Lions look to be in good shape. They’ll have to replace Hardy’s dynamism returning punts. But Thompson will be back for two more years. At kicker, Penn State brought in Tulsa’s Chase Meyer to compete with Sander Sahaydak and Ryan Barker.