BYU football coach Kalani Sitake has emerged as a leading candidate to be the next Penn State coach, according to FootballScoop.com.

The 50-year-old Sitake, a native of Tonga, has had multiple conversations with Penn State director of athletics Pat Kraft over the past 10 days, according to the website.

Sitake has guided BYU to an 83-44 record in 10 seasons, including 11-1 this season. Its most impressive win was a 24-21 decision over in-state rival Utah.

The 11th-ranked Cougars finished the regular season last weekend with a 41-21 victory over UCF, which gave them a berth in the Big 12 title game Saturday against No. 5 Texas Tech in Arlington, Texas.

Sitake started at fullback at BYU for three seasons (1998-2000) for Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards.

He began his coaching career at E

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