Penn State begins the 2024 college football season ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 poll, the second consecutive year the Nittany Lions have been ranked in the preseason top 10. Penn State is up five spots from where it concluded the 2023 season. This marks Penn State football's fifth top-10 ranking in 11 seasons under head coach James Franklin.
Penn State finished 13th in the final AP poll of 2023 after going 10-3 with a loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. The Nittany Lions began the season at No. 7 and were ranked as high as No. 6. Georgia is No. 1 in the 2024 preseason AP poll, followed by Ohio State, Oregon, Teas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan and Florida State. Check out the full preseason AP Top 25 Poll.
Penn State also opened the season as a top-10 team in the Coaches Poll for the second consecutive year. The Nittany Lions were No. 9 in the preseason Coaches Poll, which USA Today released Aug. 5. Franklin is one of 66 voters in the Coaches Poll.
Franklin begins his 11th season as Penn State's head coach with a roster that returns 16 starters, including seven each on offense and defense. Quarterback Drew Allar, a preseason nominee for the Davey O'Brien and Maxwell Awards, returns for his second season as the Nittany Lions' starting quarterback. Running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who essentially were co-starters last season, are back as well, as is Mackey Award nominee Tyler Warren at tight end.
Penn State also returns one of the nation's most highly ranked defensive players in Abdul Carter, who is playing defensive end after two seasons at linebacker. The Nittany Lions' returning starters on defense include linebacker Kobe King, safeties KJ Winston and Jaylen Reed and defensive tackles Dvon J-Thomas and Zane Durant.
The Nittany Lions added four scholarship players through the NCAA Transfer Portal: cornerbacks A.J. Harris (Georgia) and Jalen Kimber (Florida), receiver Julian Fleming (Ohio State) and offensive lineman Nolan Rucci (Wisconsin). Three other transfers joined the team as walk-ons: kicker Chase Meyer (Tulsa), defensive end Jordan Mayer (Wisconsin) and receiver Logan Cunningham (Marietta College).
Franklin also hired three new coordinators this season: Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas on offense, former Indiana head coach Tom Allen on defense and Justin Lustig from Vanderbilt on special teams.
"You talk about the season, I think one of the big story lines for us obviously is three new coordinators, which is unusual," Franklin said. "Andy Kotelnicki, who we hired as our offensive coordinator from the University of Kansas, has been great. I've got a ton of respect for what they were able to do at Buffalo as well as what they were able to do at Kansas. I've got a ton of respect for his former head coach in Lance [Leipold] and have followed those guys closely for a long time.
"I think the big thing was, was this going to make sense for him and us? We're not starting from scratch, so are you able to come in, study what we do, what can stay the same and what needs to change. I think the big thing obviously, did a ton of good things on offense last year, but we were not explosive enough. Coach Kotelnicki and what they were able to do at Kansas the last two years, extremely explosive and just did a really good job as a relational leader, coming in and building those
relationships with our staff and players.
"On the defensive side of the ball, a name that you guys are all familiar with is Tom Allen," Franklin added. "[He] was a head coach in this conference for a long time, so got great perspective there. And Tom was in a position where he did not really need to take a job. So we spent a ton of time making sure that Penn State was the right fit for him and he was the right fit for us."
Penn State opens the season Aug. 31 at West Virginia, which received 22 votes in the inaugural Coaches Poll. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX.
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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.
