John Strollo is in his second season as the Nittany Lions' tight ends coach. During the 2012 campaign, Strollo was instrumental in the development of a tight ends unit that led the nation with 83 receptions, helping the Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in total offense (437.0 ypg) and ranking second in scoring (32.6 ppg) in conference games. Kyle Carter was a consensus first-team Freshman All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten honoree and true freshman Jesse James was an honorable-mention Freshman All-American and tied the school season record for a tight end with five touchdown receptions. Strollo coached the offensive line at Ball State during the 2011 campaign.
A native of Long Branch, N.J., Strollo went to Ball State with head coach Peter Lembo, having coached with him at Elon (2008-10), mentoring the tight ends for one season and the offensive line the last two. Strollo was the tight ends coach at Duke in 2005 and offensive line coach in 2006-07, working with Bill O'Brien and Charles London. A Boston College graduate, Strollo began his coaching career at Middletown South (N.J.) High School and then was a graduate assistant at Springfield College, earning his master's degree. His coaching resume also includes stints at Maine (2004), Cornell (2001-03), Lafayette (1996-2000), Massachusetts (1991-95), Northeastern (1981-1982 and 1984-90) and Washburn (1983). In his 34th year in coaching, Strollo served as the offensive coordinator at Cornell and Northeastern.
