Penn State tight ends coach Tyler Bowen will call the plays for Penn State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Dec. 28, head coach James Franklin confirmed on Friday morning. The Nittany Lions are currently without a full-time offensive coordinator after Ricky Rahne took the head coaching job at Old Dominion earlier this month.

"For the game, Tyler is stepping into that responsibility very similar to how Ricky Rahne did in the past,” Franklin said. “Tyler has done a great job. He’s been with me for a long time since he was a player. Excited about this opportunity for him."

Franklin added that Bowen, as well as other current staff members, are under consideration for the open coordinator position. He is taking his time in the process of hiring a new coach, however.

“This hire, obviously is an important hire, but on top of that we need someone that's going to be able to come in and blend,” he said. “We don't really want someone to come in and start all over again, you know, you look at that across the country. Look at that even in our conference where maybe it took the first four or five games to people get used to a new system.

“We're looking for somebody that has the experience as well as the humility to come in and blend to say, OK, what are the things that I have conviction about for me to run my offense that you know I can't really change I need these things to be comfortable and calling the offense, and what things can we keep the same from a verbiage standpoint, so that the players are having to learn a completely new system so what what what things can change so, and what things could stay the same, so that's that's what we're looking for someone that can come in and do that.”

Bowen has previous offensive coordinator experience, as he called the plays for Andrew Breiner’s Fordham squad in 2017 following Joe Moorhead’s departure to Penn State. Bowen was the offensive line coach at Maryland before being hired by Franklin in 2018.

During his time as offensive coordinator at Fordham, Bowen’s offense led the Patriot League and ranked fourth in FCS in total offense (498.2) and scoring offense (40.1). The Rams also paced the Patriot League in rushing offense (229.7), which was 12th in FCS.

Offensive Analyst and Analytics Coordinator Kirk Campbell has been promoted to Quarterbacks coach for the Cotton Bowl. Campbell has had an off-field role since joining the program in March of 2017. He was previously the Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach at Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia, where he was elevated to the head coaching position the offseason before joining the Nittany Lions.

He played his college ball at Mercyhurst before earning his Master’s Degree from Tiffin University, where he served as a graduate assistant. He then coached wide receivers at Tiffin for one season.

Campbell lists his recruiting area as West Virginia and Kentucky. He’ll fill the full-time void left on the staff following Rahne’s departure.