With Penn State head football coach James Franklin set to meet with reporters Thursday at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis, we're sharing our exclusive one-on-one coach and coordinator interviews conducted earlier this summer, continuing today with Nittany Lions' defensive coordinator Brent Pry.
Penn State gave up an average of 27.7 points per game last season, the most in school history. Scoring is on the rise just about everywhere, of course, thanks to the increasing potency of college offenses, but Nittany Lion defensive coordinator Brent Pry wasn’t willing to write off the unit’s struggles as a sign of the times.
In his various media availabilities, Pry talked about poor tackling and a lack of accountability among defensive players. This past spring, he said that he and his fellow coaches had been addressing those problems and would continue to do so over the summer months.
As Penn State begins ramping up its preparations for the 2021 campaign, Pry is pleased with how things are shaping up on the defensive side of the ball. That’s partly because he has seen the progress he was hoping to see, and also because the Nittany Lions have put together a formidable collection of talent.
“We’ve got a good group coming back,” Pry said. “When you look at each position, you’re trying to make sure you’ve got five ends, five tackles, six linebackers, four safeties, and you want five corners. And sitting at this point right now, I think we have the best chance to check all those boxes, as far as having talented guys who are good enough. They just have to get to a point where their maturity and those types of things are where they need to be. And that’s what the summer and preseason camp are about. So I feel pretty good right now. We’ve just got to stay the course.”
BWI’s Nate Bauer recently had a chance to talk with Pry about Penn State’s defensive outlook. Here’s what he had to say:
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BWI You said in April that accountability was lacking last season. What did you mean by that?
PRY You’re accountable for what’s asked of you. So for us, when we look at film from the fall, there were too many mistakes that weren’t mistakes because somebody didn’t know; they were mistakes because of choices or a lack of detail.
How we correlated that was, if you’re supposed to be at study hall at 11 o’clock, you can’t walk in at 11:06. That’s just like if you’re supposed to take five steps on this blitz, and you take two. That’s the same, and that’s how we put it to them. If you’re supposed to be spill blitzer and come underneath a blocker, but you go down the middle or stay outside, you’re not accountable. If we don’t know that you’re going to be where you’re supposed to be, it’s hard to operate.
There are enough examples of that last year, and it wasn’t because guys didn’t know what to do; it was because either they were trying to do too much or they didn’t think the details were important. That goes back to us as coaches emphasizing it, and so we’re talking to the guys constantly about what you do off the field. If you’re supposed to be at a tutor at 8 o’clock, you need to be at the tutor. If you’re supposed to get eight hours of study hall, you get eight, you don’t get 7:15. So we’re on them about the little things.
During the season, we do a production chart. And we talk about it every Sunday with the team, with the defense. The production chart rewards guys for positive plays: tackles for loss, sacks, PBUs, tackles, all of that. And it takes away points for negative plays: mental errors, execution errors, foolish penalty, missed tackle, loaf. So at the end of the game, let’s just say Brent Pry had 30 snaps and he had 20 positive points, but he also had 16 negative points. So he ended up with four total production points. That’s not good enough in 30 plays.
So what we did for the spring was, we did an accountability production chart. And it was the weight room, it was academics, it was community [service], and it was all those things where you could be rewarded for positive things.
If you got a positive email from a professor, you did community service, you went above and beyond and helped a teammate with some extra drill work or something, you got positive points. If you missed a class or you missed a tutor or you were late to something, you got negative points.
We put that up once a week in front of the whole defensive unit and we kept track of percentages: D-line is at 97 percent, safeties at 87 percent. Out of the opportunities, who are meeting the most? And then at the end of it, the D-line was the winner and we rewarded them with these nice pullovers for the accountability piece. So that’s how we’re addressing it. Our big focus this off-season is accountability.
BWI And it’s working? You feel good about it?
PRY Yeah, I do.
BWI Last year, before the season, you seemed to indicate that the defense wasn’t prioritizing sacks as much as in previous years. Was that an accurate read, and was that approach reflected last season in the decrease in sacks?
PRY Well, you’re right. I want to be careful how I say this, because it’s not that we don’t love sacks. But we were giving up some things that we just don’t feel we’re willing to give up anymore. They created more opportunities for sacks but also created some liabilities.
So we tweaked it just a little, where maybe it [results in] not as many sacks but helps us in some other areas. That’s still a work in progress. I think we saw some of it last year, but last year was just such an oddball year. I’m anxious to see [what happens] with another off-season of that mindset.
Again, we’re just trying to control quarterbacks a little bit better and minimize rush lanes and do a better job getting the ball out a little sooner. So that’s kind of where the emphasis is, but yeah, you’re correct. I think it’s a work in progress. What I’ve seen so far, I like.
BWI You wanted to emphasize takeaways last year, but it didn’t come to fruition. Why do you think that was the case?
PRY Honestly, I think you’ve got to catch the ones that are thrown to you, and we’re dropping those right now, too many of them. You go back even two years ago, the drops by Micah [Parsons] and Jesse [Luketa] and Cam Brown. We’ve got to catch the ones that are thrown to us.
We put a bigger emphasis on it. Everybody is on the JUGS machines like crazy nowadays. We do plenty of coverage variety; it’s not that. I think it’s [the case that] if you just get three or four more a year – and those are the ones that you should catch that are thrown to you – you’re going to like your numbers better.
BWI How do you feel about the defensive line, and who are some of the guys you expect to do well there this year?
PRY Everybody’s going to notice A.K. [Arnold Ebiketie]. I think he’s been a great addition. He’s got a chance to be a starter. Nick Tarburton, coming off injuries, had a nice spring. We’re excited about Smith Vilbert and the spring that he had. He’s long and talented and is continuing to get better.
Inside, we’ve got a proven commodity in P.J. Mustipher. I liked the addition of Derrick Tangelo. He’s a veteran, a lot like P.J. And then obviously you’ve got some exciting guys in Hakeem [Beamon], Amin Vanover, Coziah Izzard. They’re talented guys, they can get on edges and get on their side of the line of scrimmage. I think Dvon Ellies has a chance. I mean, there are a lot of guys there who get you excited.
But again, that group, after Tangelo and P.J., has to have a nice summer and a nice preseason camp. If we do that, we’re going to feel good about where we’re at at that spot. With the addition of [juco defensive tackle Jordan] van den Berg, I’m excited about him. He’s a high-motor guy, tough, can run. He’s going to make all those guys around him better in there.
BWI Does Luketa factor in on the line?
PRY Jesse is practicing some at defensive end. What that role is going to look like, I don’t know yet, but we’re certainly going to experiment with it like we did with Micah some, and put him on the line of scrimmage.
He’s one of those hybrid players, just like Micah. He’s one of those guys who’s got rush ability but looks pretty good playing from a two-point [stance] and playing at the second level. Jesse’s best plays last year were when he was in the box. He’s such a physical guy. He’s got great strength. And we’re going to try to maximize what he does well, which was the second level in the box and his rush ability.
BWI How did you feel coming out of spring practice about the changes you made at linebacker, with Brandon Smith moving to Will and Luketa back to the Mike?
PRY We always felt like Brandon Smith’s best position was going to be Will. It’s just a challenging position to learn, and as the season unfolded, those last three or four games, Brandon played a lot more snaps at that spot. He had a really nice spring, so I feel good about that. Curtis Jacobs can operate well in all that space at that Sam position out to the big field. He’s got a lot of DB quality in him. I’m not so sure that Curtis couldn’t play safety here. So I’m excited about him.
Charlie Katshir has been banged up and is finally getting healthy. That’s going to give us great depth at the linebacker position. Ellis Brooks, who had a tremendous spring, he’s playing absolutely his best football, and so you’ve got Ellis or Jesse [at middle linebacker]. One of the two is in the game running the defense for you.
I think Tyler Elsdon is a young guy at Mike who is grooming behind Jesse and Ellis. So I think we’re in pretty good shape there. We’ve got some guys who have played, and then we’ve got some talented younger guys. I think we’ve got some guys, to be honest, who are setting themselves up for a really nice year.
BWI How much do Kalen King and Johnny Dixon shake up what you thought you would do this year at cornerback?
PRY You’ve got two top dogs with [Tariq] Castro-Fields and Joey [Porter Jr.]. And they’ve got to be top dogs. That’s what they’ve got to do. And then you’ve got Kalen King and Johnny Dixon and Daequan Hardy as the supporting cast right now.
I’m excited about all of them. I think you’ve got a chance to have five guys you feel really good about, with two top dogs who have been in a lot of big battles. So I’m excited about that.
And then I kind of feel the same way [about the safeties]. [Jaquan] Brisker could play either safety spot, and you’ve got [Jonathan] Sutherland, who’s got experience and has got some strengths in some areas. You’ve got Ji’Ayir Brown, who really has us excited right now. He can play either safety spot. Tyler Rudolph is a guy with a good skill set who is finally turning the corner and has a chance with a good summer and camp to put himself in a position to help us. He’s a guy who has the skill set to play either safety spot.
And then, obviously, moving Keaton Ellis to the position strengthens it even more. Keaton is a guy who is going to battle for starting time wherever you put him in the back end. We feel really good about that, coming out of there with four guys who we feel we can win with.
BWI Do you know what you want to do with Ellis? Does he fit into one specific role, or is he able to play several positions back there?
PRY Right now, he’s a safety. He’s a guy who is learning the field safety spot. We know he could go back to corner at any point, but right now the emphasis is on him learning field safety. And then after that, it’s probably learning boundary safety. And then he’ll probably still get some snaps at corner at some point in preseason camp to make sure he’s still honed in there.
BWI What are your nickel options?
PRY We have several candidates there with Daequan, who played it a lot last year. Keaton Ellis has played it. And then we really feel good about Dixon learning that spot and being able to do that for us.
BWI Will Marquis Wilson’s move to offense stick?
PRY I can’t answer that. That’s a question for James [Franklin]. He’s always welcome on our side of the ball, but I’m excited about him at receiver.
To me, he’s done some good things. He’s got big-play potential every time the ball goes his way. But he’s a guy who obviously has some experience. He made a big interception in the Cotton Bowl. I mean, this guy could come back over and slide back in with us pretty quick, whether it’s in a significant role or a part-time role.
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