Penn State football has officially hired Justin Lustig as its special teams coordinator, the team announced Tuesday. Lustig came to Penn State from Vanderbilt, where he was the team’s tight ends and special teams coach.

“We are thrilled to welcome Justin, his wife, Beth, and sons, Samuel and Henry, to our Penn State Football family,” James Franklin said. “I have followed Justin’s career closely and have been thoroughly impressed with the way his special teams units have consistently performed. He’s spent 19 seasons as a special teams coordinator and also brings valuable experience from a very successful stint as a head coach. Justin is a Pennsylvania guy who will fit in well within our organization and this Happy Valley community.”

Lustig has spent the last three years at Vanderbilt, creating one of the nation’s better special teams units. Lustig’s group at Vanderbilt was one of 20 in the nation to block multiple punts and the Commodores finished 11th nationally in net punting. In 2018, Lustig was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which honors the nation’s best assistant coach.

Before Vanderbilt, Lustig coached special teams, running backs, and outside receivers at Syracuse. During his time with the Orange, Lustig’s punting units were among the best in the ACC and his 2018 special teams unit was ranked as one of the nation’s most efficient by ESPN.

Before Syracuse, Lustig was the head coach at Division II program Edinboro, where he inherited a 0-11 team and led it to a 9-2 record the following season. Lustig also coached as a special teams coordinator at Ball State, Christopher Newport, Eastern Illinois, and Louisiana Lafayette.

“Growing up in Pennsylvania I have long held the Penn State program as the gold standard of college football,” Lustig said. “My family and I are incredibly excited for this opportunity to come back to our home state and join this historic program. I want to thank Coach Franklin for this opportunity to join the Penn State Football staff. I’m eager to get to work with this remarkable staff and community.”

Lustig replaced Stacy Collins at the special teams coordinator position after Collins took the same job at Boise State earlier in the week.