Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526526
2 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Two of Penn State's three new coordinators have decided to coach from the field on game days. De- fensive coordinator Tom Allen is stationed on the sideline this year, as is special teams coordinator Justin Lustig. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is working from the press box. Kotelnicki has been overseeing college offenses since 2006 when he was on the staff at Division III Wisconsin-River Falls. He moved up to the FBS when he joined Buffalo's staff in 2015 and later spent three years at Kansas. In his two decades as a coach, he has grown comfortable being upstairs on game day. "I have done the press box for every game ex- cept for I think three or four games," Kotelnicki said. "For me, game day is about making sure that I'm calling the best play, that I have a chance to critically reflect on what we're doing. The press box is the best situation. "To be in the press box, I think for me it's always been what I call a sterile environment, where you can be up there and you can think and digest without any of the emotion that's happening." By contrast, Allen said he prefers the atmosphere of the sideline. As head coach at Indiana the previ- ous eight seasons, he was always on the field on game day, but he said he's done both over the course of his career. "I liked what I could see [in the press box], and I love to be able to just block out all the noise," he said. "But I felt I always lost the emotional connec- tion of the game. I like the flow of the game. I like to be able to get with players face to face and feel the emotion, good or bad. And I think that I'm a pretty high-energy guy. I think I'd be a caged tiger in the press box … as a matter of fact, I guarantee you I would be." The only Penn State position coach in the booth this season is Anthony Poindexter, who is in his fourth year overseeing the Nittany Lions' safeties. Poindexter has spent plenty of time in the booth since coming aboard, so that's not unexpected. Tight ends coach Ty Howle was in the booth in previous years but has moved to the field with Ko- telnicki going upstairs. — Greg Pickel Tom Allen said he enjoys the "emotional connection of the game" that he gets from being on the sideline. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Two Coordinators Stationed At Field Level In 2024 Allar used a stiff-arm to repel a would-be West Virginia tackler in one of the most memorable moments of Penn State's opener. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL