Penn State football hires Phil Trautwein as the Nittany Lions’ new OL coach
Penn State football has found its newest offensive line coach. Phil Trautwein will fill the position and give the Nittany Lions a full coaching staff, the program announced Friday evening.
The 33-year-old will be replacing former Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover, whose contract wasn’t renewed by Penn State head coach James Franklin after the 2019 season.
Franklin, in a statement released by Penn State, called the young offensive line coach a rising star.
“We are thrilled to welcome Phil and his family to Penn State,” Franklin said. “Phil has had success at the highest level as a player, winning two national championships at Florida and spending four seasons in the NFL. He is a rising star in our profession and has had success in developing tremendous offensive linemen during his time at Boston College with nine players earning All-ACC honors in two seasons. We are excited to bring his knowledge and experiences to Happy Valley.”
The new offensive line coach cited his childhood fandom as part of his reason for accepting the job.
“Growing up in New Jersey, I was always a fan of Penn State. It was the best academic and athletic university in the country then, and it remains so today,” Trautwein said. “My family and I are grateful Coach Franklin has given us the opportunity to join the outstanding staff he’s assembled. I could not be more excited to continue building the best offensive line in the country, and to help bring championships to Happy Valley.”
Trautwein spent the last two seasons as the offensive line coach at Boston College and helped four offensive linemen receive All-ACC honors in 2018. Chris Lindstrom, Aaron Monteiro, John Baker and Ben Petrula all received those honors, and Lindstrom was drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft after a year under Trautwein’s tutelage.
Prior to his two seasons as offensive line coach with Boston College the, Trautwein served as the tight ends coach/special teams coordinator at Davidson from 2016-2017. He was also a graduate assistant with Boston College from 2013-2015.
The new Penn State offensive line coach had his fair share of success on the field as well. Trautwein played in the NFL from 2009-2012 and college football at the University of Florida from 2004-2008. He was a member of the All-SEC first team in 2008 as a left tackle and a member of the conference’s second team in 2006. He and Florida won the BCS National Championship in the 2006 and 2008 seasons and the SEC championship in those two years.
Trautwein will coach an offensive line group that will return three full-time starters and two part-time starters in 2020. He’s Franklin’s second hire this offseason after new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kirk Sciarrocca was hired to replace Ricky Rahne in December.
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 8:44 PM.
