Monday, February 24, 2025, 5:40PM |  48°
MENU
Advertisement
Miami head coach Manny Diaz directs his team against Florida State in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Tallahassee, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021.
1
MORE

Penn State’s new defensive coordinator Diaz back in his element coaching linebackers

Mark Wallheiser/AP

Penn State’s new defensive coordinator Diaz back in his element coaching linebackers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Manny Diaz accepted an offer in December 2021 to become Penn State’s new defensive coordinator, he wanted to install his style of play.

During his introductory press conference in December, Diaz discussed how he disagrees with the notion that a team can’t be aggressive and simultaneously limit big plays. In his opinion, explosive defensive plays more often come from mistakes.

“Trying to create negative plays, while at the same time trying to limit explosive plays allowed, those are all things that are in my background,” Diaz said during his introductory press conference. “No matter how the roster turns over, no matter how coaches turn over, there’s just a style that carries forward.”

Advertisement

Fast-forward to Aug. 1, Penn State’s first day of practice for the 2022 campaign, and Diaz was preaching the importance of aggressive football once more. Donning black Nike football cleats, Diaz was right in the thick of it, working on linebacker Jonathan Sutherland’s technique during a defensive drill as 11 other Nittany Lions watched on.

Penn State cornerback Daequan Hardy (25) celebrates after intercepting Ball State quarterback Drew Plitt (9) during an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. Penn State defeated Ball State 44-13.
Andrew Destin
Increased Penn State role could be in store for Penn Hills grad Daequan Hardy

It’s what Diaz, who double-dips as a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, sought to do when he agreed to come to Happy Valley. When introduced, Diaz discussed his desire for both he and Franklin to make each other’s lives easier.

Of course, Diaz is hardly a common defensive coordinator given his prior head-coaching experience at Miami for the last three years. But coaching linebackers is perhaps his greatest area of expertise.

Before becoming the Hurricanes head coach for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 campaigns, Diaz coached linebackers at five different schools, including Texas and Mississippi State. Now at a school colloquially known as “LBU,” Diaz knew from day one the significance of the position he would be taking.

Advertisement

"Everybody should want to play at LBU but man, there's something that comes with that,” Diaz said in December. “You need to really want it because if you come here, you have to understand the great ones that you’ll be compared to.”

Assuming Diaz goes with Sutherland and Curtis Jacobs as his starting outside linebackers, he still has to figure out who his middle linebacker will be. But in the meantime, expect Diaz to do much of the same this August as what he did the first day of camp: preach the importance of recovering fumbles and hanging onto them.

After all, while the Nittany Lions’ defense generated 21 turnovers last fall, seven of those were fumble recoveries while the remaining 14 were interceptions. Diaz, the defensive coordinator of Miami’s 2017 team that led the nation in sacks and was third in the country in tackles for loss, will almost assuredly look to pressure the opponent better than Penn State did a year ago.

Under new Virginia Tech head coach and former defensive coordinator Brent Pry, the Nittany Lions had 27 team sacks, good for a three-way tie for 74th in the FBS.

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford passes during an NCAA college spring football game Saturday, April 23, 2022, in State College, Pa.
Andrew Destin
Penn State’s improved quarterback depth on display at opening day of practice

Practicing PJ

As indicated at Big Ten Media Days last week, PJ Mustipher was a full participant Monday evening. Sporting knee braces like all the rest of the defensive linemen, Mustipher was an active participant during a pass-rushing drill that was predicated on quick feet and lateral movements.

Mustipher is now roughly 10 months removed from the injury to his left knee he suffered in Penn State’s 23-20 loss to Iowa on Oct. 9, 2021. By all indications, Mustipher seems to be right on track to start the season with no restrictions.

Not to mention, he was also named to the Rotary Club of Houston’s watch list for the Rotary Lombardi Award on Monday.

Let's Talk Chop

Right alongside Mustipher during drills with defensive line coach John Scott Jr. was Maryland transfer Chop Robinson. A player Franklin and his staff recruited out of high school, Robinson elected to depart from the Terrapins’ program after just one year.

While in College Park, the former four-star recruit out of Quince Orchard High School racked up a pair of sacks and totaled 19 tackles. But now, the Gaithersburg, Md. native is outside of his home state, sporting no gloves and the number 44 on Penn State’s practice facility.

Since Arnold Ebiketie, a former high school football player in Maryland himself, was drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Falcons, the Nittany Lions are in search of more options to rush the quarterback with.

Robinson will have his work cut out for him to match what Penn State’s sack leader did last year, but his addition to the program remains a valuable one nonetheless.

Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1.

First Published: August 2, 2022, 12:28 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
President Donald Trump speaks at the Governors Working Session in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 21, 2025.
1
opinion
Bruce Ledewitz: The Supreme Court will step up and Trump will back down
Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden catches a pass against Ohio State during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
2
sports
Which positions are strong and weak at NFL combine? And how will Steelers approach this draft?
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cory Trice Jr. (27) intercepts a pass during a failed two-point conversion by the Kansas City Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in the North Shore. The Kansas City Chiefs won 29-10.
3
sports
Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 02.24.25
A hat signed by President Donald Trump for Rachel Powell, with a note that reads, “Rachel, we love you,” at her cabin on the outskirts of Grove City, Pa., Feb. 4, 2025, Feb. 4, 2025. Powell is one of hundreds of prisoners granted amnesty for their role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as President Donald Trump has sought to alter the record of that day, but her life, like her nation, is deeply changed. ()
4
news
Pardoned for Jan. 6, 'Pink Hat Lady' came home to a new reality in Western Pa.
La Grassa Pizza is now offering four-cut, late-night pies at The Vandal on Saturday nights.
5
life
Pittsburgh pizza news: La Grassa’s late-night pies and a big win for Mercurio’s
Miami head coach Manny Diaz directs his team against Florida State in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Tallahassee, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021.  (Mark Wallheiser/AP)
Mark Wallheiser/AP
Advertisement
LATEST sports
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story