West Virginia has hired Penn State wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Gerad Parker as its new offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.
Parker, 39, graduated from Kentucky in 2005. Since then, he has coached at his alma mater, Tennessee-Martin, Marshall, Purdue, Duke and Penn State. He was interim head coach at Purdue for six weeks in 2016.
Last season with the Nittany Lions, he helped guide an offense that ranked 15th in the country at 35.8 points per game. KJ Hamler was his prized pupil, leading the team with 56 catches for 904 yards and eight touchdowns.
Last season, offensive line coach Matt Moore and running backs coach Chad Scott were co-offensive coordinators for West Virginia with head coach Neal Brown handling the bulk of play-calling duties.
Moore has been promoted to assistant head coach. Scott will remain as co-offensive coordinator.
“I’m excited to add Gerad to the coaching staff at West Virginia,” Brown said in a release. “I have known him for many years, and we have similar roots in the state of Kentucky. He brings years of successful experience, not only on the field but also as a recruiter who has covered a lot of territory. He will make an immediate impact on our staff.”
Parker is the third offensive coach to leave Penn State’s staff this offseason. Offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne took the head coaching job at Old Dominion and offensive line coach Matt Limegrover was let go.
Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca was hired to replace Rahne. Boston College’s Phil Trautwein was chosen to replace Limegrover.
