Tag: Manny Diaz

Twitter reacts to impressive first half for Penn State at the Rose Bowl

Twitter reacts to competitive first half in the Rose Bowl between Penn State and Utah.

Penn State cornerback Kalen King made the first big play of the Rose Bowl by intercepting Utah quarterback Cam Rising.

Rising was attempting a fade route to his receiver outside the number and King read it perfectly and got the ball back for Penn State. The game’s first turnover allowed Penn State to get points on the board after [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] found the endzone following the interception.

Singleton also scored in impressive and unique fashion as Penn State rang the wing-t formation with quarterback Sean Clifford looking to the sideline to confirm the play call. Singleton extended his freshman touchdown record by scoring his 11th touchdown.

The best part of the first half is you can tell Sean Clifford plans on leaving it all on the Rose Bowl field. Clifford has been taking chances and delivering through the air to broaden the horizons of this Penn State offense.

Penn State has looked calm but aggressive through the first half and the Manny Diaz defense isn’t making things easy for Utah. the first half had social media buzzing and some fun takeaways can be found in it.

Scouting Report Card: Grading Penn State’s Rose Bowl opponent

Let’s grade Utah’s 2022 season before Penn State faces them in the Rose Bowl.

Getting report cards on Penn State has been a common place for us all season, but this weekend for the Rose Bowl we are doing a different twist on things.

Utah is a team that is not often familiar to Big Ten teams and fanbases. The last memory they have of them is a Rose Bowl defeat last year where Ohio State tore them up through the air. Utah will have revenge on its mind while Penn State will be looking to end a strong season on an even better note.

Get to know this Utah team before things kickoff!

Quarterback

Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Grade: B

Utah quarterback Cam Rising is not projected to be a great or even average NFL quarterback but that doesn’t mean he isn’t perfect for Utah and its offense. He doesn’t turn the ball over, and he makes plays when he needs to but we haven’t seen him without Dalton Kincaid. He will have to find a new favorite target and if he can then things can be interesting.

NEXT: Running backs

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5 reasons why Penn State will beat Utah

Here are the top five reasons why Penn State will beat Utah in the Rose Bowl.

Penn State hasn’t won the Rose Bowl since the 1994 season. To put that in perspective for you, I was just three months old at the time.

I grew up with Penn State winning the Orange Bowl with [autotag]Michael Robinson[/autotag] as quarterback. I also remember them winning the Capital One Bowl or the Outback Bowl and never got to see a Rose Bowl win. I instead always remember Michigan and Ohio State playing in it.

For this generation of Penn State fans, this game is important. For this senior class, especially it means something different.

They endured the highs and lows of a regular college career but they have the added stress of COVID-19 and nearly losing [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] to USC. This game means a lot to a lot of people in this program and that motivation I think is an extra reason why they can win this game.

Penn State football recruiting profile: LB Kaveion Keys

Penn State football Class of 2023 profile: LB Kaveion Keys

Penn State has a long history of award-winning and successful NFL players all hailing from the linebacker position. [autotag]Jack Ham[/autotag], [autotag]Paul Posluszny[/autotag], and [autotag]Micah Parsons[/autotag] are just a couple of linebackers who have been difference-makers at Penn State and the NFL.

Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and his new aggressive defense need linebackers to be successful and in comes [autotag]Kaveion Keys[/autotag]. The four-star linebacker from Virginia won’t have a far trip north but a long journey will begin next year with Diaz making him the linebacker he needs in his defense.

Here is a snapshot look at one of the final pieces in Penn State’s Class of 2023 recruiting class.

Manny Diaz misses out on FAU coaching vacancy

Penn State was close to having to find a new defensive coordinator.

Florida Atlantic fired head coach Willie Taggart just five days ago and they have already found his replacement. In a process that involved Penn State defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], FAU announced that they have hired former Houston and Texas coach Tom Herman.

Diaz in his first year as Penn State’s defensive coordinator coached a scrappy defense that included five players making All-Big Ten teams. He furthered the development of both [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] specifically.

Diaz did all this after a short stint as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes where he had a record of 21-15 in three season. Much like Herman at Texas, Diaz struggled to bring his hometown team back from the shambles they had played in recently.

Despite all that he still was a finalist for the FAU job.

While Diaz missed out on the FAU job it shows that he does have the urge to be a head coach once again and that the [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] coaching tree may be expanding once again. Despite that job being gone Diaz does have another chance to return to the sunshine state, perhaps before winter sets in at State College, with the USF job still open.

While he isn’t officially reported to be interviewed or even interested, it seems no school or team may be off the board for Diaz. Especially a return to his home state.

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PHOTOS: Penn State All-Big Ten defensive team players

A photographic look at Penn State’s All-Big Ten players during the 2022 season.

Penn State and [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag]’s defense was well represented on the end-of-season All-Big Ten roster as voted on by the coaches and media. A total of six Penn State defenders found their way onto the teams through either media, coaches, or the voting of both.

The biggest name for Penn State and making an appearance on the first team roster for both media and coaches was [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] who was one of three defensive backs selected. The other two defensive backs to make both media and coaches teams were [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] and [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag].

Three other names to get voted to just one of the rosters were [autotag]P.J. Mustipher[/autotag], [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag], and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag]. Mustipher and Isaac were voted onto the media rosters. All in all, this is an impressive list and shows the veteran presence the defense had while also spotlighting the future with Isaac and Carter being highlighted.

Look back on their season now.

Penn State players make appearance on All-Big team roster

Find out which Penn State players received All-Big Ten honors from coaches and media

In a move that many expected, it has almost become a ritual at this point, Penn State seems to have its fingerprints all over the end-of-season All-Big Ten roster as voted on by the coaches and media.

The biggest name for Penn State and making an appearance on the first team roster for both media and coaches was [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] who was one of three defensive backs selected. Porter Jr. played in 10 games this year and recorded 27 tackles but forced no turnovers by any means. What he did do however was constantly lock down the opposing team’s number one receivers to the point they weren’t targeted and when they were he broke up 11 passes on the year.

Two more defensive backs made appearances on the Big Ten roster as both media and coaches voted for [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] and [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag].

King’s stat sheet is more heavy due to Porter Jr. being targeted less, he did intercept two passes this year while breaking up 14 passes overall. For Brown, he was a do-it-all player for the Penn State defense this year racking up forcing six total turnovers, gathering 5.5 sacks, and then breaking up three passes. Both men played big parts in the defense remaining the standard at Penn State.

Two other names to get voted to just one of the rosters were [autotag]P.J. Mustipher[/autotag], [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag], and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag]. Mustipher and Isaac were voted onto the media rosters with Mustipher coming back from a significant knee injury and playing this year when that wasn’t always a guarantee.

Freshman Abdul Carter was voted onto the media roster after an impressive freshman campaign that saw him gather up a combined 16.5 sacks and tackles for a loss while also forcing two fumbles in the process.

Not a bad first year for [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] as the coordinator of the Penn State defense.

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Report Card: Grading Penn State’s win vs. Rutgers

Penn State’s one-sided game at Rutgers led to plenty of high grades on the report card.

The sportsbooks had the lines on this game all over and in the end, they didn’t give Rutgers nearly enough points. Penn State dominated this game on the defensive side which covered up a lackluster offense to start the game.

Once the second quarter started though everything was smooth sailing for the Nittany Lions against Rutgers. The best part? If you take out the losses to Michigan and Ohio State, Penn State is outscoring opponents in the last six weeks 192-48.

Let’s jump into another easy scorecard.

Quarterback

Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Grade: B-

I am always tough when grading quarterbacks but that mainly has to do with the fact that [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] continues to get meaningful reps. The offense looked horrendous early in the game outside of the rushing attack, shocker. Clifford stayed in the game until mid-way through the third where [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] came in and once again we saw a spark in the eyes of the offense.

NEXT: Running backs

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Manny Diaz nominated for Broyles Award

Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was nominated for this year’s Broyles Award.

Penn State defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] is officially in the running for the nation’s top assistant coaching award, the Broyles Award. The Broyles Award released its list of 52 nominees for this year’s award, with Diaz one of seven Big Ten assistants up for the award. Every Big Ten assistant up for the Broyles Award is a defensive coordinator.

Diaz has had a solid season in his first year at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are among the best in the nation in recording tackles for a loss and Penn State is coming off a shutout of Maryland that limited Taulia Tagovailoa to fewer than 80 passing yards.

Diaz joined the Penn State coaching staff shortly after he was removed as head coach at Miami. Diaz filled the vacancy created when longtime [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] assistant [autotag]Brent Pry[/autotag] left his position as defensive coordinator to become the head coach at Virginia Tech.

Penn State has never had a Broyles Award winner, so Diaz is looking to become the first to claim the award. The Broyles Award has a stellar history of seeing its winners go on to become head coaches as well, which is something many expect could be a possibility rather quickly for Diaz. Some notable previous winner of the Broyles Award inlcude Lincoln Riley, Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian, Mike Locksley, and, Pat Narduzzi.

Last year’s Broyles Award winner was Michigan offensive coordinator [autotag]Josh Gattis[/autotag], a former assistant under Franklin.

The Broyles Award will cut its list of 51 nominees down for a semifinalist cut on Nov. 22, and finalists will be announced a week later on Nov. 29. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

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Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Inside the box score: Key stats from Penn State’s dominant win over Maryland

Inside the box score: Key stats from Penn State’s Week 11 win over Maryland

Penn State’s defense was the story of the game for the Nittany Lions in a blowout victory at home against Maryland in Week 11. If you need further proof of that, just take a look at the box score.

While Penn State got a big day on the ground from one of its star freshmen running backs, the offensive box score didn’t yield a ton of a results that standout and make you take notice. The defense, however, was a much different story.

Penn State defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] deserves props for setting his defense up for a big game against a struggling Maryland offense, which was coming off a disappointing outing on the road last week at Wisconsin.

Here’s a look at some of the key stats from Penn State’s decisive victory over the Terrapins in Week 11.