West Virginia State's interim head football coach is set to become its permanent head football coach.
WVSU is expected to name interim coach John Pennington, the team's offensive coordinator the past two seasons, to the permanent position, sources told the Gazette-Mail on Wednesday night.
WVSU athletic director Nate Burton declined comment when reached Wednesday night.
Pennington took over the interim position after former head coach Jon Anderson took the University of Sioux Falls coaching job in December. Anderson previously had been USF's defensive coordinator.
Pennington, a former George Washington High standout who played wide receiver at West Virginia, paid immediate dividends for the Yellow Jackets offense when he arrived in 2015. State led the Mountain East Conference with 282.3 passing yards per game in 2015 and were second in the MEC with 294.4 passing yards per game this past season.
Pennington has plenty of experience in what is now the MEC. He was a graduate assistant at West Virginia Wesleyan and also spent time as an assistant coach at Concord.
Contact Derek Redd at 304-348-1712 or derek.redd@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @derekredd.