Ex-Penn State Football TE: Tom Allen Hire a 'Home Run'

Former Penn State Football and UMass tight end Adam Breneman has taken to the media life post football, becoming a college football analyst for CBS Sports, the Big Ten Network, and ESPN and hosting his own college football podcast Next Up With Adam.

The former three-time All-American tight end did not mince words when talking about Penn State’s new defensive coordinator hire, Tom Allen.

Breneman called Allen a “home run hire” for James Franklin that will “pay dividends in the hunt for a Big Ten title and the battle for a National Championship.”

“I think this hire will pay dividends in the hunt for a Big Ten title and the battle for a National Championship.”@PennStateFball alum @AdamBreneman81 shares his thoughts on the Tom Allen hire as Penn State DC: pic.twitter.com/hjz3rOkEtJ

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) December 27, 2023

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In discussing the hire, Breneman compared the energy and consistency Tom Allen brings to Happy Valley to former Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, but with head coaching experience in the Big Ten that knows Big Ten staffs and opponent’s tendencies from his years at Indiana.

Allen comes to the Nittany Lions after seven seasons at Indiana in the Big Ten East, playing Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan every year (including beating Michigan and Penn State in 2020).

Breneman notes that although Allen has a history of stepping in and immediately improving a defense, he will only need to maintain the success that Penn State has seen under Manny Diaz the past two years, including in 2023 where Penn State’s defense ranked at the top of college football in most defensive categories.

With the Big Ten expanding and getting more difficult in 2024, Penn State Football will need Tom Allen to live up to the hype if Penn State wants to make the new 12-team playoff and compete for a Big Ten and National Championship.