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Penn State to fill defensive line coach opening with UCLA’s Ikaika Malloe

nate-mug-10.12.14by: Nate Bauer01/02/26NateBauerBWI

The Penn State football program has found its defensive line coach. Blue White Illustrated has learned that Ikaika Malloe, an assistant with the UCLA Bruins for the past four seasons, has been chosen to lead the Nittany Lions’ defensive line moving forward.

247Sports’ Brandon Huffman Tweeted the news first.

Malloe spent the 2022 season as the Bruins’ outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator before taking over the defensive line in 2023. He arrived in Los Angeles following a six-year stint at his alma mater, Washington, from 2016-21. During his playing career with the Huskies, Malloe was a decorated safety and outside linebacker.

Penn State picks DL hire

Making the move to Penn State this offseason, Malloe will reunite with new Nittany Lions defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who led UCLA’s defense during the 2023 season. Taking over a program that had languished in the years prior to his arrival, Lynn and Malloe helped engineer a turnaround that saw the Bruins clamp down on yards allowed. UCLA finished the season ranked No. 10 nationally, allowing just 301.5 yards per game.

At the forefront of that attack, the Bruins boasted the nation’s second-ranked rushing defense, allowing just 80.8 yards per game on the ground, while giving up only 18.4 points per game.

Central to that effort, Malloe helped guide the development of defensive end Laiatu Latu, who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Latu led the nation in tackles for loss per game at 1.8 and averaged 1.08 sacks per game, finishing with 13.0 on the season. He was named the Lombardi and Ted Hendricks Award winner, recognizing the nation’s top defensive end, and earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Lynn, Malloe reunite at Penn State

After Lynn left UCLA for Southern California following the 2023 season, Malloe was promoted to defensive coordinator. That tenure was cut short when UCLA fired head coach DeShaun Foster, with the Bruins parting ways with Malloe just two days later.

At the time of Malloe’s departure, three games into the Bruins’ 2025 season, UCLA ranked among the nation’s least effective defensive units. The Bruins sat No. 133 nationally in third-down defense, allowed 244.0 rushing yards per game, and ranked No. 134 in team passing efficiency defense with a 184.73 rating.

Before that dissolution, however, Malloe had formed strong bonds with his players, including UCLA senior defensive lineman Jay Toia.

“Our relationship has been great, especially because of Laiatu as well,” Toia said. “Laiatu played with him at Washington. Latu pretty much set an example for us that Coach Malloe is there to help us get better every day, which we did. I’m pretty sure our tape last year as a defense was evidence of that.”

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