Penn State AD Pat Kraft is committed to winning national title in football

Penn State director of athletics Pat Kraft made it clear again Monday that he’s all in when it comes to pursuing national championships, most notably in football.

Whether it’s making defensive coordinator Jim Knowles the highest-paid assistant coach in college football or paying enough to keep returning several star players, Kraft wants his department to do what it can to help the Nittany Lions win.

“You don’t come to Penn State willy-nilly and say, ‘Let’s see what happens,’ ” Kraft said in his first public interview session with beat reporters. “We’re here to win national championships and we’re going to do it the right way. Yeah, I’m committed. It takes everybody.

“When it comes to football, we’re close. We’re going to keep going and keep going and keep going until we get to where we want to be.”

Under James Franklin, the Nittany Lions (13-3) set a school record for wins last season and won their first two College Football Playoff games before losing 27-24 last month to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, a national semifinal.

Since then, Penn State has replaced defensive coordinator Tom Allen by hiring Jim Knowles away from Ohio State, hired Stan Drayton to replace running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and paid for several draft-eligible players to return in 2025.

Kraft said he didn’t hesitate when agreeing on a three-year, $9.1 million contract with Knowles, who’s considered one of the brightest defensive minds in the country. Knowles replaced Allen, who left shortly after the Orange Bowl to become defensive coordinator at Clemson.

“I’m going to get the best coordinators that we can,” he said. “The coordinators set the tone. It’s James’ team. James is the CEO. He has done a masterful job of building the best staff in the country. You have to pay market value, but we can afford…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/penn-state-ad-pat-kraft-044800973.html

Author : Reading Eagle, Pa.

Publish date : 2025-02-25 04:48:00

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