Report: Penn State Hiring Noah Pauley As Wide Receivers Coach

In a move that’s been expected for a few days now, On3 is reporting that Iowa State wide receivers coach Noah Pauley is coming to Penn State where he will coach in the same role.

Not to repeat myself, but here’s what I said about Pauley a week ago:

Ever since Josh Gattis left after the 2017 season, wide receivers coach has been a point of consternation for Penn State fans. How about Noah Pauley, who helped get Xavier Hutchinson (6th round), Jayden Higgins (2nd round), and Jaylin Noel (3rd round) drafted in the last three drafts? Sure, former Iowa State wide receivers coach Nathan Scheelhase deserves a lot of credit there when it comes to recruiting them to Ames, but Pauley is apparently thought of highly as well. He actually interviewed for the 49ers offensive coordinator job last offseason, which I don’t know, but if Kyle Shanahan likes a college wide receivers coach enough to want to interview him for an NFL OC job, I think that speaks to Pauley’s trajectory.

Beyond helping develop Hutchinson, Higgins, and Noel at Iowa State, Pauley played a huge role in developing Christian Watson at North Dakota State into a 2nd round pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 NFL Draft. His expertise will certainly be a welcomed addition after some inconsistent wide receiver play and coaching the last few seasons for Penn State.

Pauley joins Taylor Mouser (OC/TE coach), Deon Broomfield (secondary coach, presumably safeties), Ryan Clanton (OL coach), and Terry Smith (Associate HC, TBD on position but probably corners) as confirmed on-the-field staff members. There’s some buzz that Dan Connor (LB coach) and Deion Barnes (DL coach) will be sticking around as well, but that’s yet to be confirmed. If Connor and Barnes do stay, that leaves the following as open:

• QB coach (though there is some Jake Waters smoke, though very much unconfirmed)
• RB coach
• Defensive coordinator
• Specials teams coordinator