Defensive head stays at PSU

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State has avoided losing another key member of its coaching staff. At least for now, anyway. Several reports Thursday had Brent Pry, the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator for the past two years, emerging as the apparent choice to take over as head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette.

Friday, however, Arizona State offensive coordinator Billy Napier took the job.

Pry, who was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Ragin’ Cajuns from 2002-06, did not deny speaking with Louisiana-Lafayette officials about the position, but stressed Friday that he plans to be on Penn State’s staff for the Fiesta Bowl againstWashington Dec. 30.

“I’m staying at Penn State, looking forward to the bowl game,” he said.

Pry allowed that “there was some mutual interest, early in the process,” but suggested that the possibility of him heading to Louisiana had been overstated.

“This time of year, you can’t read too much into what’s out there on social media. … It’s never accurate,” he said. “It’s twisted, one way or another.”

Pry’s flirtation with Louisiana-Lafayette came just a few weeks after Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead left to become head coachat Mississippi State.

Coach James Franklin said, “I take it as a compliment” that other schools are interested in his staff.

“Whenever you have really good people who are talented at what they do, people are going to pursue them … to be able to steal some of our success,” Franklin said.

Tommy Stevens: Lion

Backup quarterback Tommy Stevens has been deployed at a number of positions during his time at Penn State. He just added another. Penn State’s Fiesta Bowl depth chart lists Stevens as manning the newly created “Lion” position, which reflects his diverse skills set.

“That’s awesome, to be able to create a whole new position,” quarterback Trace McSorley said. “He’s a tremendous player, has a tremendous work ethic.”

Stevens was the only Penn State player to run and pass for a touchdown, as well as have a touchdown reception, this season. And he still might have some untapped potential.

“We expect his role to continue to grow,” Franklin said. “There’s really nothing off the table in terms of his ability to have a bigger role with our team.”

Familiar offense

The good news is that the Huskies offense the Nittany Lions will face in the Fiesta Bowl shouldn’t be entirely new to them.

The bad news is that the last time they saw one like it was in last year’s Rose Bowl, when Southern California generated 52 points.

“Washington is sort of similar to USC,” defensive back Christian Campbell said. “I’m not going to say we have a ton of experience playing against that kind of offense, but we know how to handle those situations.”

Notes

Franklin confirmed that linebacker Manny Bowen, who was suspended for the final three games of the regular season because of an unspecified violation of team rules, will not play in the Fiesta Bowl, but declined to address his long-term future in the program. … McSorley, on the value of finishing the season with a victory: “The last couple of years, we’ve had really good seasons, but haven’t gotten a win in the bowl game. To be able to win that bowl game gives you a much better feeling into the offseason.”

That likely will come next fall, when Barkley, a junior, is expected to be playing in the NFL.

Barkley will be the Nittany Lions’ go-to guy for at least one more game, in the Fiesta Bowl against Washington Dec. 30, but most indications are that he will turn pro after that.

If so, Sanders will be the front-runner to take his place as Penn State’s feature back.

“I am ready,” Sanders said. “Whatever comes next year, I’m going to keep preparing the way I do. Nothing’s going to change.”

Coach James Franklin isn’t ready to commit to having Sanders as the No. 1 back in 2018, partly because Penn State has several other candidates — with highly regarded recruit Ricky Slade expected to join the group next week — and partly because he won’t rule out spreading out the workload a bit more than it has been during Barkley’s tenure.

“It could be a situation where we have a little more of a rotation than we had last year,” Franklin said.

Barkley had 199 carries this season; the other four running backs Penn State used combined for 44, led by Sanders’ 25 (which were two fewer than backup quarterback Tommy Stevens’ total).

Sanders and Stevens tied for the team lead in yardsper-carry, 7.0, while Barkley

Nick Saban isn’t happy about one major new distraction, and it has nothing to do with Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt’s hiring at Tennessee.

The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide (11-1) opened practice Friday in preparation for another playoff matchup with No. 1 Clemson (12-1) on Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl. But the looming December signing period has kept Saban and other coaches on the recruiting trail and left him trying to snatch time on plane rides to watch film of averaged 5.7

“We’re excited about Miles and his future and, obviously, he’s done a really good job behind Saquon Barkley,” Franklin said. “And, when he got opportunities, really running with it.”

And while Franklin won’t proclaim Sanders to be his No. 1 back if Barkley leaves, he clearly likes his potential, drawing parallels to a situation during his stint as an assistant coach in the NFL.

“When I was in Green Bay, we had Brett Favre, and we drafted Aaron Rodgers,” he said. “Aaron was able to come there and sit behind Brett for a couple of years, and learn, take it all in.

“[Sanders] has been fortunate to sit behind a great the Tigers.

A coach who’s nothing if not committed to routine hasn’t changed his opinion of players being able to sign with teams for three days starting next Wednesday.

“I didn’t like it when we did it. I don’t like it now,” Saban said after practice. “I don’t think it’s in the players’ best interest. I don’t see how it benefits anybody. I think it’s really stressful for everyone. We’re all trying to get ready for bowl games and playoff games and we have a signing day right in player and a great person and a great leader and learn from him. And allow himself to kind of evolve into [assuming the starting] job.”

Sanders said “I’ve tried to learn a lot from him,” and suggested that Barkley is among those who believe he can be a high-impact player in his remaining seasons at Penn State.

“He told me to leave him some records,” Sanders said, laughing.

“He thinks I could be something real special when I get the chance.”

And his opportunity to prove that, it seems, is getting close.

A woman who accused running back Rodney Anderson of sexual assault