Penn State Hires Vanderbilt's Justin Lustig as Special Teams Coordinator
Penn State football coach James Franklin moved quickly to hire a new special teams coordinator, choosing Vanderbilt associate head coach Justin Lustig. The long-time special teams coach replaces Stacy Collins, who returned to Boise State after spending two seasons with the Nittany Lions.
Penn State announced the hiring Wednesday, two days after Boise State announced Collins' move. Lustig also will coach outside linebackers and nickelbacks, as Collins did at Penn State.
Lustig, an Erie, Pennsylvania, native, has coached special teams in college since 2006. He spent the past three seasons at Vanderbilt, two as associate head coach, and was a nominee for the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach, with Syracuse in 2018. Lustig has covered plenty of ground as a special teams coordinator, working at Eastern Illinois, Louisiana Lafeyette and Ball State as well. Lustig also has head coaching experience, guiding Division II Edinboro to a 9-2 record in 2016.
“I have followed Justin’s career closely and have been thoroughly impressed with the way his special teams units have consistently performed," Franklin said in a statement. "He’s spent 19 seasons as a special teams coordinator and also brings valuable experience from a very successful stint as a head coach. Justin is a Pennsylvania guy who will fit in well within our organization and this Happy Valley community.”
Lustig meets a lot of Franklin's conventional needs for the position. He's a veteran coordinator who has been a head coach, brings a demonstrated track record of successful special teams and has ties to Pennsylvania. Lustig played at Bucknell and coached in the PSAC, the conference Franklin played in at East Stroudsburg.
“Growing up in Pennsylvania I have long held the Penn State program as the gold standard of college football,” Lustig said in a statement. “My family and I are incredibly excited for this opportunity to come back to our home state and join this historic program. I want to thank Coach Franklin for this opportunity to join the Penn State Football staff. I’m eager to get to work with this remarkable staff and community.”
Vanderbilt ranked 115th overall last season in the ESPN Football Power Index but was 41st in special teams efficiency. Vanderbilt finished 11th nationally in net punting behind first-team All-SEC punter Matthew Hayball and blocked two punts.
Lustig completes Franklin's hiring of three new coordinators for the 2024 season. Franklin replaced offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich with Andy Kotelnicki of Kansas State. He then hired former Indiana head coach Tom Allen after Manny Diaz left to become head coach at Duke.
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