Phil Trautwein became Penn State’s offensive line coach in 2020, completing a quick ascent through the coaching ranks after a brief NFL career. Now, with Matt Campbell coming into Happy Valley and largely cleaning house to bring in his own assistants from Iowa State, Trautwein is heading back to the place where he had big-time success on the field.
On Friday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel confirmed a move that has been heavily speculated in recent weeks, that new Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is hiring Trautwein as the Gators’ next offensive line coach.
Sources: Florida is set to hire Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein as the school’s new offensive line coach. Trautwein is a Florida graduate who has coached 39 all-conference selections the last eight years, including his two seasons at Boston College. pic.twitter.com/rkREx2nyuI
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 12, 2025
Phil Trautwein joining Jon Sumrall’s staff at Florida
The 39-year-old offensive line coach has been very successful between stints at Boston College and Penn State. Now, he’s returning to his alma mater, where he won two national titles under Urban Meyer in 2006 and 2008.
A standout offensive tackle, Trautwein was named to the All-SEC First-Team in 2008, his senior season. He was a two-time team captain in Gainesville and spent four years in the NFL after joining the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2009.
While at Penn State, Trautwein produced seven NFL Draft picks, including 2024 first-round pick Olu Fashanu. This season, Penn State’s offensive line returned five players who saw starting reps in 2024: Drew Shelton, Vega Ioane, Nick Dawkins, Anthony Donkoh, and Nolan Rucci. The line was expected to compete for the Joe Moore Award as the best offensive line in football, but underwhelmed amid the Nittany Lions’ six-game losing streak.
When Penn State did begin to turn things around for the final three games of the year, though, interim head coach Terry Smith and now-former offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki leaned heavily on the offensive line and senior running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, who finished their careers as the first and fourth leading rushers in program history. Singleton is also the all-time leader in touchdowns with 54, surpassing Saquon Barkley.
While Trautwein will take his experience and impressive resume with him to Gainesville, he won’t have players to follow him, at least not experienced ones. Four of Penn State’s five starters along the offensive line this year, Shelton, Ioane, Dawkins, and Rucci, are expected to leave for the NFL. Only Ioane and Anthony Donkoh have eligibility remaining.
Penn State does, however, have highly touted backups who could test the transfer portal market. Sophomore Cooper Cousins was a highly rated four-star in the 2024 recruiting class, and redshirt freshman Garrett Sexton was trending to become a future starter at offensive tackle for the Nittany Lions.