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 against Washington 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 coach at 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.”
Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG
First Published: December 15, 2017, 7:29 p.m.