Sometimes, the “not-so-sexy” hire is the best one. Just ask Texas A&M, which is reaping the benefits of hiring a great coach in Mike Elko in Year 2.
A similar hire would be if Penn State plucked Eli Drinkwitz from the Missouri Tigers.
The hot name around that search right now is Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, due to his numerous ties to State College, but he hasn’t exactly been terrific yet with the Cornhuskers. He has made strides in rebuilding the program, so maybe he gets the call, but Drinkwitz would be great, too.
Whoever takes the job is looking at a rebuild with so much offensive talent (Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Drew Allar) off to the NFL after this season, but there are great players already there. Obviously, Rhule has shown he can rebuild quickly, but so has Drinkwitz.
There is a clearer playoff path in the Big Ten at PSU, and that’s a much better program than Mizzou with a firmer recruiting base and a national profile. The big Adidas money that is about to be flowing in will help, too.
Coach Drink has recruited extremely well to the Tigers, and it would be perfect for him to take a bigger step and possibly even quarterback Beau Pribula with him. The signal-caller transferred from Penn State and has been a revelation this season.
There are a lot of reasons to love Rhule, but Drinkwitz is the pick here.
