Penn State announces Limegrover as new OL coach

Published Jan. 13, 2016 3:02 p.m. ET

Marcus Hartman

Penn State football coach James Franklin did not wait long to fill his need for an offensive line coach. The Nittany Lions announced Wednesday the hiring of Matt Limegrover, who replaces Herb Hand.

A Pittsburgh native, Limegrover was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Minnesota for the last five years.

The Golden Gophers were generally a run-oriented team under Limegrover's watch.

He said in a statement he is humbled and honored to join the staff at Penn State.

"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," Limegrover said. "I can't wait to get there and start working on building an offensive line to help this program become a championship team."

Franklin said he is happy to have Limegrover onboard.

"He is another Pennsylvania guy, born and raised in Pittsburgh, so he is very familiar with Penn State and this region," Franklin said in a statement. "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."

After two seasons on the Penn State staff, Hand left State College to become the offensive line coach at Auburn.