Penn State Football coach hired by NFL’s Atlanta Falcons

Penn State Football will look to replace assistant recruiting coordinator Charles Walker, who was hired as the Atlanta Falcons’ assistant special teams coach

Penn State Football head coach James Franklin will need to fill another vacancy on the program’s staff, as another of his assistants took a job in the NFL.

Charles Walker, Penn State Football’s assistant recruiting coordinator on defense, was hired to become the Atlanta Falcons‘ assistant special teams coach.

Walker, a Pompano Beach Florida native spent the past two seasons on the Nittany Lions‘ staff, where he oversaw all aspects of Penn State Football’s recruiting efforts and helped build the program’s defensive target board in those two recruiting cycles.

Replacing Walker will be an important task for Franklin, as the Nittany Lions currently own the No. 4 ranked class nationally in the 2022 cycle. Walker was particularly valuable to Penn State Football because of his knowledge of the Florida recruiting hotbed.

A University of Massachusetts alum, Walker spent five seasons on the MinuteMen’s coaching staff, where he coached special teams for one season and spent five others coaching linebackers.

The Atlanta Falcons finished last season ranked 15th in the NFL, and Walker assumes the assistant special teams position under special teams coordinator Marquice Williams.

Walker is the second member of Penn State Football’s coaching staff to take an NFL job this offseason, after Tyler Bowen became the Jacksonville Jaguars’ tight ends coach under first-year head coach Urban Meyer.