A Penn State analyst is reportedly moving on to another Big Ten school.
Ola Adams, who previously was Villanova’s defensive coordinator and coached with the NFL’s Denver Broncos, spent this season on James Franklin’s staff.
But per a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Adams has accepted a job to become the defensive backs/safeties coach at Indiana, which announced the hiring of Curt Cignetti to replace Tom Allen as head coach.
Sources: Penn State analyst Ola Adams took a job as the defensive backs/safeties coach at Indiana. He's the former defensive coordinator at Villanova.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 4, 2023
Adams coached at Villanova from 2015-21. He spent the next season as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Broncos.
In Adams’ last season at Villanova in 2021, ‘Nova played Penn State at Beaver Stadium in September, falling 38-17. Despite that loss, 2021 was another successful season for what’s been a successful FCS program in Philly. ‘Nova went 10-3 overall, 7-1 in its conference, making the FCS playoffs, where it fell to South Dakota State in the quarterfinal.
Adams has experience coaching on both sides of the ball. Before Villanova, he was the wide receivers coach at Columbia in 2014.
Before that, he was Division III Cortland State’s defensive coordinator from 2011-13. He also coached at Cortland State in 2009, when he was the defensive backs coach. His coaching career got started in 2008 at his alma mater, Concord College, where he was the assistant defensive backs coach for a season.
Before he got into coaching, Adams became a star at Concord, turning into a first-team all-conference defensive back.
Adams’ official title at Penn State was defensive analyst and analytics coordinator. Penn State doesn’t play Indiana next season, but is scheduled to in 2025 at Beaver Stadium. PSU and IU used to play every season but that will change due to the Big Ten’s realignment.
