The Penn State Football Week in Review

The offseason stacks days for Penn State football news just as efficiently as the regular season, with change churning daily. Imagine being James Franklin and hiring two coordinators, visiting 2024 recruits and transfer-portalees, managing the current roster and trying to get a few moments to practice for the Peach Bowl. Sleep? See you in January.

So if you've missed any Penn State football news, consider this a refresh. We'll certainly be tracking more.

With Andy Kotelnicki on board as Penn State's new offensive coordinator, Franklin now must fill another office. Manny Diaz left Penn State for Duke after two exceptional years as defensive coordinator, quickly becoming beloved in the Lasch Football Building. Duke will introduce Diaz on Saturday. Here's our first look at a potential candidates list for the defensive coordinator job.

Penn State will play Ole Miss in the Dec. 30 Peach Bowl, the first meeting between the two teams. It's also the first meeting between James Franklin and Lane Kiffin as head coaches. Should be fun. Kiffin introduced himself cleverly to Penn State fans this week.

Penn State has been quiet in the outgoing part of the NCAA Transfer Portal, with just two confirmed entries, neither of whom were starters. Meanwhile, the Lions have been aggressively making offers to players in the portal, notably several wide receivers. One of the most the more interesting names is Julian Fleming, the Pennsylvania native and former Ohio State receiver who would make a quick impact at the position. Penn State also offered North Texas' Ja'Mori Maclin, whose cousin Jeremy played for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Two Nittany Lions have declared for the 2024 NFL Draft, one of whom will remain with the team for the Peach Bowl. Defensive end Chop Robinson played his last game for Penn State against Michigan State, while tight end and captain Theo Johnson is headed to Atlanta with the team.

A few Penn State staff members have departed as well. Ola Adams, a former defensive analyst, joined Indiana's staff as defensive backs coach. And Khalil Ahmad, a recruiting coordinator, returned to the recruiting staff at Syracuse.

Good news from the academic side of Lasch. The Penn State football team set a program record with a NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 93 percent. The score, which covered graduation rates of athletes from the 2013-16 academic classes, ranked second in the Big Ten behind Northwestern.

In the NFL, kicker Robbie Gould announced his retirement after 18 seasons. Gould was Penn State's longest active-tenured NFL player. He kicked three field goals, representing all of Penn State's points, in the 2003 Capital One Bowl. Gould wrote a touching career anthology for The Players' Tribune. And running back Saquon Barkley is the New York Giants' nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for the second consecutive season.

Interesting legal story from the Centre Daily Times (subscription required) regarding Penn State's multimedia rights. Penn State wants to end its long-time partnership with Learfield Communications next year and sign with a new company, according to the story. Penn State and Learfield have been negotiating terms for a while, but Penn State wants out, and filed a brief seeking a federal ruling. There's a lot of cash at stake. According to the story, Learfield guaranteed Penn State $335 million over 10 years.

More Penn State Football

Penn State Football on SI.com

How Manny Diaz, Duke's new head coach, thrived at Penn State

Penn State needs a new defensive coordinator. Here's a candidates list

How Penn State is navigating the Transfer Portal

James Franklin, Lane Kiffin discuss the College Football Playoff

Penn State to face Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl

Penn State hires Andy Kotelnicki as its next offensive coordinator

How Andy Kotelnicki's offense will fit at Penn State

Scouting report from Kansas on Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State's new offensive coordinator

AllPennState 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 Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.