Penn State having "ongoing conversations" about roster before Outback Bowl; interim defensive coordinator pick is in
Anthony Poindexter will call plays on defense for Penn State in the Outback Bowl.
The first-year Nittany Lions assistant carries the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach title already. He has called plays before, and, of course, must bump up to the coordinator role for the postseason after Brent Pry left for the head coaching job at Virginia Tech.
New defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will not be involved on game day. Penn State meets Arkansas at Noon ET at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
“Manny’s really here, you know, getting adjusted,” Franklin said Friday during Penn State’s bowl media day. “Obviously, all the HR paperwork that has to be done at a place like Penn State, getting him familiar with the roster, getting him familiar with the coaching staff; you’re just getting adjusted. Recruiting, you know, all those types of things.
“He’s basically here just kind of getting adjusted to Penn State. It wouldn’t be fair to him or the staff to jump right in. So obviously, after the bowl game, we’ll make that transition complete.”
Poindexter was the defensive coordinator at Connecticut from 2014 through 2016. He also was the co-defensive coordinator at Purdue for four seasons prior to joining the Nittany Lions this past offseason.
Diaz, meanwhile, was hired last Saturday after he was let go as the head coach at Miami. He has a long history of coordinator experience and is someone who Franklin has coached against for a long time.
“Some of the stuff that really jumped out, you know, is the tackles for loss and the turnovers,” Franklin said. “He’s got some really good you data out there based on his time as a defensive coordinator.”
Will all Penn State players be available for the Outback Bowl?
Franklin does not typically reveal roster availability news until game day. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he did not mention anyone by name when asked about whether or not his entire starting lineup from the Michigan State game would be available to face Arkansas.
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However, conversations continue to take place, the Penn State head coach said, about who will play and who will sit.
“It’s really still kind of a moving target,” Franklin said. “A lot of conversations going on right now. Really, has been since the last game at Michigan State, obviously.
“We’ll see how that plays out. But, as you see across college football, this is what is going on. So, we’ll see how it goes. But there’s still ongoing conversations.
By “this is what is going on,” Franklin means bowl game opt-outs, of course. For example, Michigan State star back Kenneth Walker III won’t play for the Spartans in the Peach Bowl. Neither will Pittsburgh quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett.
We’ll see who joins that list from a Penn State perspective. It feels more like a when, not if, conversation in terms of at least a couple of players not suiting up to face the Razorbacks.
