Penn State has announced that Gerad Parker will be the new wide receivers coach in Happy Valley.

The announcement came on Thursday afternoon on Twitter. He was last at Duke where he served as an offensive analyst and wide receivers coach in 2017 and 2018.

Parker replaces former wide receivers coach David Corley, who was with the Nittany Lions for just one season.

“I am extremely humbled and honored to have the chance to join the Penn State football program,” Parker said. “I am so thankful to Coach James Franklin and the entire coaching staff. We as a family are certainly very excited to be a part of a place that has been built with such a passion for football and with such a storied history. Coach Franklin has done great things at Penn State and has high expectations of where this program can go. Personally, I feel I have been called on this Earth to coach wideouts and help grow men, what better place to do that than Penn State, a place that is high in talent and has a chance to compete for championships.”

Parker has previous B1G experience, serving on Darrell Hazell’s staff at Purdue from 2013-2016. In his first two years in West Lafayette, Parker served as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. He then moved to the wide receivers coach in 2015 and kept his recruiting coordinator duties.

When Hazell was fired midway through the 2016 season, Parker was named interim head coach. While the Boilermakers went 0-6 in their final six games, the team looked more energetic under new leadership.

Parker, a native of Huntington, West Virginia, was a wide receiver at Kentucky from 2000-04.