(Photo Courtesy of Colgate Athletics)

The Penn State Nittany Lions are set to hire Mike Murphy as their next defensive coordinator, according to a report from Chris Jastrzembski.

Murphy replaces former Nittany Lion defensive coordinator Peter Toner who left to take the head coaching position at Gettysburg (DIII) earlier this summer.

A New Hampshire grad, Murphy comes to Penn State after serving as a high school head coach at the Hill School (Pa.) since 2018. He has also served as the defensive coordinator for Whipsnakes LC since the inception of the PLL, helping to lead them to two consecutive PLL titles.

Prior to his time at the Hill School and with Whipsnakes, Murphy coached at the college level for 22 seasons, which included seven as the head coach at Colgate. While at Colgate, Murphy led the Raiders to a 57-51 record over seven seasons. He led the Raiders to their first-ever NCAA Quarterfinals appearance in 2012 and a first round appearance in 2015.

Murphy previously served as the defensive coordinator at Army, Denision (DIII), and Wingate (DII). He also had assistant stops at Pfeiffer (DIII) and Merrimack.

At Penn State, Murphy inherits a defense that was ranked 52nd nationally and 5th in the Big Ten in scoring defense (13.45 goals per game) last season. The Nittany Lions return three poles that saw significant time last season, including multiple starts, in fifth-year defenseman Brayden Peck, senior Brett Funk, and junior Sutton Boland. Junior Sam Sweeney, who served as Penn State’s top LSM, will also be back as well as redshirt junior goalie Aleric Fyock, who saw action in five games with two starts in 2021.