Pry sees improvement on defense
This has been a difficult season for everybody involved with Penn State football, including its defensive coordinator.
Pry has more gray in his beard than ever. He’s dropped 20 pounds.
“That’s what 0-and-5 will do to you, man,” he said with a laugh.
Pry has received as much criticism as anyone for the Nittany Lions being 2-5 as they prepare to face Michigan State (2-4) on Senior Day Saturday at 3:30 at Beaver Stadium (TV-ESPN, WEEU-AM/830).
Whether it’s defensive players tackling poorly or being out of position, Penn State allowed at least 30 points in each of its first five games, all losses.
“The criticism probably would have started with me,” Pry said Thursday during a conference call. “That was some pretty shoddy tackling going on. It was just too loose. There was just too much space and not (enough) getting in a good position to make the tackle.
“It’s something we practice all the time. I’ve been most disappointed in my position, the linebackers. We’ve tackled well in the box. We just haven’t tackled well in space. We’ve worked on it. We’ve emphasized it. It’s still not where I’d like it to be.”
The Lions rebounded from the worst start in school history by beating Michigan 27-17 and Rutgers 23-7 on the road. They held the Scarlet Knights to 205 total yards, including 83 on the ground.
“That was the first game when I felt we looked like ourselves,” Pry said. “We were gang tackling. We were running by people to get to the ball. We were reckless. We weren’t perfect. We still made mistakes in that game.”
Penn State ranks 17th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total defense (327.4 yards per game) but 66th in points allowed (29.1). Since allowing 405 yards in a woeful performance against Maryland, the Lions have held three of its last four opponents to under 300 yards.
Pry said many of the problems they had early in the season stemmed from players trying to make plays outside the framework of the defense.
“They felt a lot of pressure to make more plays,” he said. “You don’t do that by jumping out of your gap or changing your technique. They’ve settled back down. To be honest, I did a poor job. I should have scaled things back earlier without having spring and having an insufficient camp.
“We were trying to do too much, which compounded the issue.”
Another factor is the relative inexperience of the defense. Penn State has played almost all season with just three starters from 2019. Cornerback Tariq CastroFields has missed the last five weeks with an undisclosed injury. All-American linebacker Micah Parsons, of course, opted out of the season in August.
“Obviously Micah’s presence was missed,” Pry said. “He’s somewhat of an eraser. When somebody’s out of the gap or not in the right place, a guy like Micah can go track it (the football) down. What would be a 12or 14-yard gain becomes a 5-or 6-yard gain with Micah on the field. So, we’ve missed that a little bit.”
Jesse Luketa has struggled trying to replace Parsons at weak-side linebacker. Although he had 10 tackles at Rutgers, he’s probably missed close to that many this season.
“We’re just not making the plays out in space that we’ve made in the past,” Pry said. “I think that’s an area that we’ve got to grow in and get better at, particularly there’s been some missed tackle opportunities for Luketa in the boundary that, you know, we expect to make.
“We’ve got to keep working to improve there. I think we’re still a work in progress a little bit at my position.”
The Lions have limited five of their seven opponents to less than 200 passing yards, including Indiana when Michael Penix was healthy. They’re allowing 191.7 per game, second in the Big Ten, but they’ve made only two interceptions.
“I think the pass defense has been pretty good,” Pry said. “I’m kind of excited about where the guys are.”
Nine freshmen are on the depth chart on defense, perhaps another factor in Penn State’s early struggles. After holding Michigan and Rutgers to less than 20 points and 300 total yards, the Lions are improving.
“They’re seeing it these last couple weeks,” Pry said. “They’re putting in the work. They’re taking their corrections. They’re trusting the plan. They’re trusting their coaches. With a group that has a lot of guys coming back, there’s some excitement about the direction things are headed.”