PROVO, Utah — A growing consensus among national media outlets has made BYU head coach Kalani Sitake one of the top candidates for the vacant Penn State job.
Numerous reports over the weekend named Sitake among the leaders, if not the outright favorite, to fill the Big Ten school role left open after James Franklin was fired earlier this season.
Footballscoop.com reported Monday that talks between Sitake and Penn State have begun to "heat up."
For his part, Sitake has remained relatively mum on his availability and whether he'd be interested in the position, which would certainly be a step up as far as national attention would concern, but would take him away from coaching at his alma mater.
During a media conference Monday about this weekend's upcoming Big 12 Championship game, Sitake said the rumors of Penn State's interest is a "great distraction," adding that he'd use it to build confidence in his own team because it's a "good sign that things are going well for [the Cougars]."
Sitake went on to say that he and the team will remain focused on the Big 12 title game rematch against Texas Tech and will avoid any other distractions.
"What I’ve asked our team to do is to be focused on what we’re trying to accomplish. There are marks of finishers and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to finish the season the right way, it’s on us to be our best to play against Texas Tech," said Sitake.
Franklin was fired on October 12 after nearly twelve seasons at Penn State. The Nittany Lions were considered national championship favorites leading up to the season, until multiple losses dropped them from the rankings.
While multiple schools announced new coaching hires over the weekend, Penn State's search has been quiet since Franklin's dismissal.
Sitake has led the Cougars to a 11-1 season, with the team sitting on the edge of a possible berth in the College Football Playoff, with a win against Texas Tech clinching a spot.
