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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.
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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.”

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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.
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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.

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"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.
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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.

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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)
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