Update: WVU has announced the hire.
Penn State football wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator Gerad Parker is reportedly leaving the program to become West Virginia’s offensive coordinator.
The story was first reported by FootballScoop and The Athletic‘s Bruce Feldman.
James Franklin will add a new wide receivers coach to his staff for the third consecutive season following Parker’s departure. David Corley was hired as Penn State’s running backs coach prior to the 2018 season, but he shifted over to coach the Nittany Lions’ wide receivers after Ja’Juan Seider’s hiring. Corley was fired following the 2018 season, which featured plenty of drops and inconsistency from the team’s pass-catchers.
Josh Gattis was Penn State’s wide receivers coach in 2017, but he left to join Alabama’s coaching staff after that season. Gattis left Nick Saban’s staff after just one year to become Michigan’s offensive coordinator.
Parker was hired as Penn State’s wide receivers coach eight days after Corley’s firing. Under his direction, KJ Hamler blossomed into a bona fide star for the Nittany Lions by leading the team with 56 receptions for 904 yards and eight touchdowns. Jahan Dotson also performed well in his first season as a full-time starter by hauling in 27 passes for 488 yards and five scores.
Elsewhere, taller wideouts like Justin Shorter and Daniel George struggled to consistently produce in 2019. The duo combined for just 21 receptions for 237 yards and no touchdowns, and Shorter — a former five-star recruit — entered the transfer portal on November 26.
Penn State and West Virginia will play a home-and-home series in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Mountaineers will travel to Happy Valley on September 3, 2023 before the teams duke it out in Morgantown on August 31, 2024.
At the time of publication, Penn State Athletics hadn’t responded to a request for comment. We’ll update this story with more information as it becomes available.
