The search for Tyler Bowen’s replacement didn’t last long.
Penn State tight ends coach Ty Howle
Penn State coach James Franklin announced Friday that former Penn State center Ty Howle will replace Bowen as the Nittany Lions’ tight ends coach, quickly working to replace an ace recruiter and a chief member of the staff who accepted a job as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ tight ends coach earlier this week.
A team captain in 2013, Howle was a two-year starter and four-year letterwinner on the offensive line from 2009-13. He started at center and left guard and was also a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. Howle returned to the program in 2020 as an offensive analyst.
“As the son of a high school football coach, Ty’s passion for teaching the game is unmatched,” Franklin said in a statement. “In addition, he wears his pride for this university on his chest each day. His contributions as a member of the 2012 team and as a captain in 2013 will long be remembered by Penn State fans. He was a great addition to our staff as an offensive analyst and I look forward to watching him thrive in this new role.”
Howle has had an interesting rise in the coaching industry since he playing days ended.
He has worked with current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada during his days as a graduate assistant at North Carolina State in 2014 and 2015. After that, he joined former Penn State quarterbacks coach Charlie Fisher’s staff at Western Illinois, where Howle coached the offensive line, served as recruiting coordinator and eventually was the program’s assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2018.
That season, Howle was the play caller for a WIU offense that ranked 21st nationally in passing offense. His offensive line allowed just 20 sacks in 409 passing attempts.
This is an important move for Penn State in a few regards. This morning, it lost a verbal commitment from one of the two four-star tight ends in the 2022 recruiting class who committed to Bowen, Georgia prep star Holden Staes.
— Holden Staes (@Hstaes13) February 5, 2021
Franklin also announced two other promotions on the staff, naming cornerbacks coach Terry Smith associate head coach and giving Bowen’s old responsibilities as offensive recruiting coordinator to receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield.
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT
