At his introductory press conference earlier this week, current Tennessee Volunteers and former Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Bob Shoop now famously said, “I like the fact that this isn’t a rebuild.”
Is Penn State really in a rebuilding mode? Or is it reloading?
To some, after the week and offseason Penn State has had, it may seem like Happy Valley is in a rebuilding mode after all based on the amount of staff and player turnover recently.
For those keeping track at home, the Nittany Lions have made changes at offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and defensive coordinator so far this offseason. Penn State has also had eight players leave the program for a variety of reasons.
The Staff
The biggest loss on the coaching staff was Shoop to Tennessee. What stings is that this is the same coach who wished “Penn State would have him forever and ever,” during preparations for the TaxSlayer Bowl. However, the fact that Shoop is on the cusp of becoming a head coach at the Division I level alleviates a certain amount of pain, as it was widely noted the former Nittany Lion defensive coordinator would likely have been gone after the 2016 season anyway.
Brent Pry was tabbed as the replacement to Shoop, and defensively the team shouldn’t miss a beat, as Pry was the co-defensive coordinator for the past two seasons in Happy Valley. The biggest obstacle for Pry to overcome is making up for losing one of the best defensive lines in college football in Austin Johnson, Carl Nassib and Anthony Zettel.
Pry, an Altoona native, interviewed for the head coaching position at Georgia Southern, and should fill Shoops’ shoes admirably. This coaching change is as neutral as it gets while also being positive for Franklin.
At offensive coordinator, Franklin brought in Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead to replace John Donovan, who was fired prior to the TaxSlayer Bowl.
The impact this hire will have on the field remains to be seen, but it looks as though Moorhead’s offense will be a significant upgrade over Donovan’s, which saw stand-out quarterback Christian Hackenberg regress over the past two seasons.
Penn State’s offensive line play has been abysmal over the last two seasons, resulting in Hackenberg continuously pulling himself off of the turf behind the line of scrimmage. Offensive line coach Herb Hand took the same position at Auburn this past week, and Franklin wasted no time in finding a replacement in Matt Limegrover who, most recently, was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Minnesota.
Looking at the tackle-for-loss statistics for lines under Hand and Limegrover, there is a gaping difference in quality of line play. Looking back the last five seasons under Hand, his lines have finished 111, 118, 70, 103 and 109 nationally. In the same span for Limegrover, his lines finished 10, 40, 54, 16 and 26 nationally. Keep in mind there are only 128 Division 1 football teams.
This hire, hands down, has the potential to make the biggest impact on the offensive front for the Nittany Lions for the foreseeable future. The offensive line will be looking to reload for next year only losing senior center Angelo Mangiro.
The Players
Of the eight players who have left the program, two have entered the draft (Hackenberg and Johnson), one has left due to chronic knee injury (Adam Breneman), and the other five have left via transfer.
As to the reasons why the transfers left? It just makes sense for both the team and the players.
Wide receiver Geno Lewis and running back Akeel Lynch are leaving the program as graduate transfers.
The wide receiver position is loaded with talent, and Lewis saw his playing time dwindle with the emergence of DaeSean Hamilton and Chris Godwin. Lewis will be transferring to Oklahoma.
At running back, Lynch began the season as the starter; however, he saw his playing time limited as a result of injuries and freshman Saquon Barkley’s success. The depth at the running back position continues to grow next year as 5-star prospect Miles Sanders has committed to Penn State and the Nittany Lions return Andre Robinson, Nick Scott, Mark Allen and Johnathan Thomas to the backfield this fall.
Troy Reeder proved to be the biggest surprise of the players who are leaving. The redshirt freshman will be transferring to Delaware, and cites playing with his brother in front of a hometown crowd as the reason. While Reeder played in every regular season game for the Nittany Lions this year, his playing time next season could have been limited due to a healthy Nyeem Wartman-White.
What is alarming at the linebacker position is Penn State now has six scholarship linebackers heading into spring practice if Wartman-White is healthy.
Gary Wooten, Jr. was to take Wartman-White’s position when the latter went down with an injury early in the season, yet lost out to Jason Cabinda and was unable to see substantial playing time. With Wooten, Jr.’s transfer, it does open up a scholarship spot for the Nittany Lions.
Defensive back Daquon Worley was heavily recruited by former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien but suffered a torn ACL in his senior season and was forced to red shirt his freshman season with the Nittany Lions. While supremely athletic, Worley never saw the field this season behind young Franklin recruits Grant Haley and Christian Campbell.
This, Too, Shall Pass
While the transfers and coaching changes happening in bulk is alarming, it is deceiving. The changes all make sense at the team and personal level for those involved.
Franklin has been able to recruit incredibly well and re-sell the Penn State program effectively. That is seen in landing top 15 recruiting classes the past two seasons.
In the first season where the Nittany Lions will have a full allotment of scholarships, there is not a rebuild going on. It’s more than that, it’s a reload.
Now, it’s time for Franklin to walk the walk and back up his big talk with results on the field.
