Monday, reports first surfaced that Penn State was losing its offensive line coach to Auburn. Two days later, the Nittany Lions already have a successor in place.
Head coach James Franklin confirmed in a press release that he has hired Matt Limegrover as his new line coach. Limegrover replaces Herb Hand, who had spent the past two seasons in Happy Valley before bolting for The Plains.
The hiring is a homecoming of sorts for Limegrover as he called Pittsburgh home for the first 18 years of his life.
“We are really excited to have Matt join our staff,” a statement from Franklin began. “He is another Pennsylvania guy, born and raised in Pittsburgh, so he is very familiar with Penn State and this region. He brings a wealth of knowledge and a ton of great experience, both as an offensive line coach and as an offensive coordinator. The numbers that his offenses have put up speak for themselves. As great of a coach as Matt is, he is an even better man; he cares about people, cares about education and cares about the community. We are looking forward to having Matt, his wife, Ann, and their children, Emma and T.J., join our Penn State Football family.”
Limegrover had spent the past two seasons as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator and line coach. After Jerry Kill’s in-season retirement, his replacement, Tracy Claeys, decided to move in another direction at coordinator.
This upcoming season will mark the first for Limegrover on a non-Kill coaching staff since 2000. As the school explained in the release, Limegrover spent 16 seasons working under Kill, following the head coach along four stops at Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois and Emporia State.
“I am both humbled and honored to join Coach Franklin’s staff and coach at Penn State,” Limegrover said. “Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, I have been a Penn State fan my entire life and to now have the opportunity to coach there is overwhelming. I can’t wait to get there and start working on building an offensive line to help this program become a championship team.”