Andy Kotelnicki Seeks to Make 'Real Art' in Year 2 at Penn State

Andy Kotelnicki wasn’t going anywhere. Despite rumors that Penn State’s offensive coordinator would become West Virginia’s head coach just days after the Big Ten Championship, Kotelnicki set the record straight in a post on X.

Beyond lucky to be a part of the Penn State Football Family. Still a lot to accomplish this season and I am looking forward to what 2025 has in store for our program! #WeAre
— Coach Andy Kotelnicki (@Kotelnicki) December 9, 2024

The hundreds of comments below the post were filled with excitement, gratitude and relief that Kotelnicki would remain with the Penn State football program for its potential playoff run in 2025. In Kotelnicki’s first year, the Nittany Lions’ offense improved in different ways. The Nittany Lions led the Big Ten in rushing offense (202 yards per game) and pass-play rate of 15+ yards (22.8 percent) and ranked second in big-play rate (16.5 percent).

Now in year two, with multiple key pieces returning and three new portal receivers, Kotelnicki is establishing Penn State’s next offensive identity.

“We’re trying to make real art,” he said. “It’s not really open to interpretation as much. I mean, if that’s a picture of a dog that was painted, it’s not abstract. It still needs to look like a football play.”

Andy Kotelnicki and the Art of “Whatever it Takes”

Kotelnicki has 19 years of offensive coordinator experience producing some of the nation’s top offenses. Before Penn State, he spent three years at Kansas and was the 2023247Sports Offensive Coordinator of the Year after leading a Jayhawks offense with metrics all ranking in the top-10 nationwide.

Kotelnicki has a creative vision he developed through experience and the influence of other coaches, leading him to establish a playbook with its own flair. Last season against USC, it might have looked unconventional for Tyler Warren to snap the ball and catch the touchdown pass on the same play, but the play achieved Kotelnicki’s goal for every snap: “to put stress on a defense.”

“We’ll do whatever it takes to move the football and score,” Kotelnicki said. “Really, your imagination becomes the limitation that you have as long as you’re not overextending individuals and asking them to do things that they’re not trained to do.”

But even what might appear as typical plays also generate excitement for Kotelnicki.

“I just like well-executed football plays,” Kotelnicki said. There’s satisfaction for him in seeing what gets developed through the spring, summer and fall camp come game time.”

With a strong duo of running backs in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, more receiving targets, depth at the tight end position and Drew Allar in his third year as the starting quarterback, Kotelnicki has multiple ways to threaten opponents offensively. And his staff credited Kotelnicki for accentuating his players’ strong suits rather than forcing them into a system.

“I love the way he thinks; he’s very sharp,” said Stan Drayton, Penn State’s new running backs coach. “He has a very unique understanding of how to get the best players the ball.”

Kotelnicki never wants a defense to be comfortable, which is how creativity becomes an asset. Importantly, Kotelnicki said that head coach James Franklin gives him autonomy over the offense.

“He doesn’t tell me what plays to call,” Kotelnicki said. “He doesn’t tell me, ‘That play sucks, you shouldn’t run it, I want you to run these 10 plays.’ He doesn’t do any of that. … I don’t feel that he is trying to do my job.”

Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki talks with reporters during football media day in Beaver Stadium. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Creating new challenges in practice

In 2025, Penn State’s offense features experience and maturity, which Kotelnicki distinguished as different but equally important concepts. Compared to his first season with the Nittany Lions, Allar said everything is more advanced now. While he builds rapport with his new receivers, the third-year starting quarterback believes that Penn State will be more diverse in its attack.

As the 2024 season progressed, Warren was predictably Allar’s top target. The John Mackey Award-winning tight end caught nearly a third of all receiving touchdowns and finished with over 1,200 yards receiving — 500 more than Allar’s top wide receiver, Harrison Wallace III.

Penn State addressed its receiver needs by adding Kyron Hudson, Devonte Ross and Trebor Pena from the transfer portal. Because of that added depth, Allar is expected to spread the ball around more, making it more difficult for opponents to defend the offense.

“We need more playmaking at the wide receiver position for us to go where we want to go, in critical moments, in critical games,” Franklin said.

Kotelnicki has a good idea of how his players respond to adversity. But now the challenge for the offensive staff is finding new ways for veteran players to continue growing.

“Maybe it’s more situation work, maybe it’s curveballs in practice or whatever it is to make sure those guys are feeling adversity [and] new stimulus that they have to respond and react to, allowing them to get better,” Kotelnicki said.

Kotelnicki recognized that players like Allar, Singleton and Allen didn’t have to return. But because they did, he feels an “obligation” to make sure they leave Penn State “in a better position personally for the next level.”

“That’s what motivates me,” Kotelnicki said. “Doing right by our football family.”

Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki during a practice session outside Holuba Hall. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Andy Kotelnicki and the Art of “Whatever it Takes”

Creating new challenges in practice

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