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Penn State hires former Purdue All-America Taylor Stubblefield as wide receivers coach

Stubblefield, who spent the 2019 season as wide receivers coach at Miami, is coach James Franklin's third hire to his offensive coaching staff since the end of the regular season.

Penn State football  head coach James Franklin, shown during a Dec. 20 practice, has hired former Purdue All-America Taylor Stubblefield at the new wide receivers coach for the Nittany Lions. CRAIG HOUTZ / For the Inquirer
Penn State football head coach James Franklin, shown during a Dec. 20 practice, has hired former Purdue All-America Taylor Stubblefield at the new wide receivers coach for the Nittany Lions. CRAIG HOUTZ / For the InquirerRead moreCRAIG HOUTZ / For the Inquirer

Taylor Stubblefield, a former All-America wide receiver at Purdue, has been named wide receivers coach at Penn State, head coach James Franklin announced Sunday.

Stubblefield, who spent the 2019 season as wide receivers coach at Miami (Fla.), replaces Gerad Parker, who left to become the offensive coordinator at West Virginia. Stubblefield will be the Nittany Lions’ fourth wide receivers coach in four years.

In a statement, Franklin said Stubblefield “really separated himself during the interview process.

“Taylor has a strong familiarity with the Big Ten Conference,” Franklin said. “He was an elite wide receiver as an All-America at Purdue, setting NCAA, Big Ten and school receiving records, some of which he still holds today. He will bring his passion and knowledge to our young wide receiver room.”

Stubblefield is the third addition to Franklin’s staff since the end of the 2019 regular season, joining offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. With the loss of leading receiver KJ Hamler, who has declared for the NFL Draft, Penn State has just one returning wideout – Jahan Dotson – who caught 10 or more passes last season.

A native of Yakima, Wash., Stubblefield was a consensus All-America as a senior in 2004 and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation’s outstanding receiver. He finished his career as the all-time NCAA leader with 316 receptions, a record that stood until 2011, and still owns the Big Ten record in that category.

He ranks second in Big Ten history with 3,629 receiving yards, and still holds the Purdue record for touchdown catches in a season with 16. He went on to play professionally with the NFL Carolina Panthers and St. Louis Rams, and with the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Penn State is Stubblefield’s 10th coaching stop since his final season of professional football in 2006. Prior to Miami, he coached at Air Force in 2017-18, Toronto of the CFL in 2016, Utah in 2014-15 and Wake Forest in 2013, all as wide receivers coach.

“It’s a great honor to join coach Franklin and the Penn State football family,” he said. “As a product of the Big Ten, I embrace the magnitude of coaching at one of the premier programs in the nation, and in one of the most accomplished conferences in all of college football.”