A special teams analyst for the Nittany Lions has found a new home in the Big Ten.
Allen Tucker, who originally had joined the Nittany Lions staff in the 2025 season, is now joining Purdue as an assistant special teams coach. He had previously been the coach at both Troy and Akron for the same position. His name now officially appears in the Purdue directory. Interestingly enough, while Penn State’s season was disastrous, the special teams unit was a major bright spot.
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The Nittany Lions had one of the best kickers in the nation in Ryan Barker, whose 94.7 percent conversion rate tied for fourth in the entire country. Dani Dennis-Sutton also was a major factor as a special teamer, blocking three punts on the year. In fact, Penn State led the country in terms of blocked punts last season with a total of five on the year.
Tucker had initially come to Penn State due to his connections with former Penn State head coach James Franklin. At Troy, Gerad Parker, who was one Penn State’s wide receivers coach, was also part of that staff. At both Akron and Mississippi State, ex Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead head coached both teams.
Justin Lustig however, returns to Happy Valley as the special teams coordinator under Matt Campbell, while Matt Colangelo returns for a second year as assistant special teams coach and Ryan Walling joins the staff from Iowa State as the new assistant to special teams as well.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State analyst finds new Big Ten home
