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eyes defensive line coach Mike Vrabel left to join O'Brien's staff with the Houston Texans. "I have great respect for him as a family man, as a coach and mentor of young men, and as a recruiter, Meyer said. " Johnson will return to Beaver Stadium on Oct. 25 when the Nittany Lions play host to Ohio State. Defensive end C.J. Olaniyan said that seeing his former position coach on the opposite sideline "will be a little weird. But I'm still going to root for him to be successful." With Johnson gone, only a few remnants of O'Brien's staff remained. Offensive line coach Mac McWhorter and tight ends coach John Strollo were still listed in Penn State's staff directory as of mid-January, but it was unclear whether either was going to return. Five of their colleagues – John Butler, Craig Fitzgerald, Stan Hixon, Charles London and Anthony Midget – were reportedly set to join O'Brien with the Texans. Vanderlinden, Penn State's longtime linebackers coach, was let go in December, as was quarterbacks coach Charlie Fisher. Penn State had not officially announced its new coaching staff as of mid-January, but a number of coaches were reportedly set to join Franklin in University Park, including several members of his staff at Vanderbilt. JOHN DONOVAN OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR Donovan presided over the most productive Vanderbilt offense of the modern era. In 2013, the Commodores averaged 29.2 points and 366.7 yards per game. He and Franklin began their working relationship as members of Ralph Friedgen's offensive staff at Maryland. A native of River Edge, N.J., and a graduate of Johns Hopkins, Donovan spent eight seasons as an assistant at Maryland following stops at Villanova and Georgia Tech. DWIGHT GALT III STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING Nearly 40 of Galt's former athletes are currently in the NFL. Before serving on Franklin's staff at Vanderbilt, he spent 17 years as Maryland's director of strength and conditioning. His son, Dwight Galt IV, was working at Penn State under Fitzgerald. He briefly left to join Fitzgerald and O'Brien in Houston but returned to the Lions following Franklin's appointment as head coach. JOSH GATTIS DEFENSIVE BACKS OR RECEIVERS During his two years at Vanderbilt, Gattis helped develop Jordan Matthews into one of the best wideouts in the Southeastern Conference. Matthews' 24 touchdowns and 1,477 receiving yards in 2013 are school records. Gattis was a safety at Wake Forest from 2003-06. A native of Durham, N.C., he coached at North Carolina and Western Michigan before heading to Vanderbilt. In addition to coaching the Commodores' receivers, he served as offensive recruiting coordinator. CHARLES HUFF RUNNING BACKS A native of Benton, Md., Huff worked with Franklin at Maryland before following him to Vanderbilt. He has also coached at Tennessee State and Hampton (his alma mater). While at Tennessee State, he coached future first-round draft pick Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. BRENT PRY ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/LINEBACKERS Pry was one of the first assistants to join Franklin's staff at Vanderbilt, and he held the title of assistant head coach this past season while also serving as co-defensive coordinator alongside Bob Shoop. Pry is originally from Altoona, Pa., and has coached at East Stroudsburg, Virginia Tech, Western Carolina, Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis and Georgia Southern. RICKY RAHNE QUARTERBACKS As a graduate assistant working under Franklin at Kansas State in the mid2000s, Rahne helped develop Josh Freeman into an NFL-caliber quarterback. Last year, the 33-year-old assistant helped Vanderbilt's Austyn CartaSamuels complete 68.7 percent of his pass attempts. In 2012, Jordan Rogers threw for 2,539 yards and 15 touchdowns under Rahne's tutelage. In addition to Kansas State and Vanderbilt, Rahne has coached at Holy Cross and Cornell. BOB SHOOP DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR/SAFETIES During the last four games of Vanderbilt's 2013 season – all victories – Shoop's defense surrendered an average of only 13.5 points. The Commodores also finished second in the SEC with 16 interceptions. A native of Oakmont, Pa., Shoop has coached at Yale (his alma mater), Virginia, Northeastern, Villanova, Army, Boston College, Columbia, Massachusetts and William & Mary. TERRY SMITH DEFENSIVE BACKS OR RECEIVERS Smith needs no introduction to Penn State fans. He played for the Nittany Lions from 1988-91 and ranks 11th in school history in career receiving yards. Smith was head coach at Gateway High in Monroeville, Pa., for 11 seasons before leaving to join Temple's staff as receivers coach in 2013. Given his experience in the talent-rich WPIAL, he would likely be a big asset if Franklin is to achieve his stated goal of "dominating" Pennsylvania recruiting. SEAN SPENCER DEFENSIVE LINE Spencer was a member of Vanderbilt's staff for the past three seasons. The 2013 season was the best of those three, as Spencer's line totaled 42.5 tackles for loss during the regular season. A native of Hartford, Conn., and graduate of Clarion University, Spencer has coached at Shippensburg, Trinity, Massachusetts, Holy Cross, Villanova, Hofstra and I Bowling Green.

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