Penn State head coach James Franklin has promoted graduate assistant Danny O’Brien to a new role on the coaching staff ahead of the 2024 season. O’Brien will now be labeled as the quarterback coach for the Nittany Lions.
O’Brien will take over the role that was previously held by former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. Yurcich was removed as offensive coordinator late in the 2023 season, and O’Brien helped fill the void on the staff with the quarterbacks immediately. Now, with new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki taking over the offensive coordinator role, O’Brien will help coach Drew Allar and the Penn State quarterbacks adjust to a new offensive system this spring.
O’Brien will continue to be a graduate assistant on the football staff. O’Brien joined the Penn State program as an offensive analyst in 2021 and filled that role for two seasons before taking on the role as a graduate assistant coach working with the offense last season.
O’Brien and Franklin go back to when O’Brien was playing quarterback for Maryland. Franklin was Maryland’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach when O’Brien came into the program. O’Brien was the ACC Rookie of the Year and a Freshman All-American. O’Brien transferred to Wisconsin in 2012, a year after Franklin left Maryland to become a head coach at Vanderbilt and after having a slight sophomore slump for the Terrapins in 2011. Penn State was among the schools vying to bring O’Brien to the program once he decided to leave Maryland, with former head coach Bill O’Brien welcoming the transfer quarterback to spring practices.
Along with Kotelnicki, O’Brien will hope to elevate Allar to the next level in 2024. Allar is coming off his first full season as the starting quarterback. He had some ups and downs all year long and ended the season with…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-promotes-danny-o-222214675.html
Author : Nittany Lions Wire
Publish date : 2024-02-22 22:22:14
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