Tag: Manny Diaz

PHOTOS: Twitter captures images from Penn State’s first week of spring football practices

Check out these images from Penn State’s first week of spring football practices in Happy Valley.

Penn State opened its first week of spring football practices this week in Happy Valley with a mix of legitimate questions about the team in 2022 and optimism for the future it holds. Early enrollees such as quarterback Drew Allar and running back Nick Singleton and wide receiver Kaden Saunders got their first taste of spring football practices and new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has officially started working with his new roster of defensive players.

For Pen State to have success later in the fall, the work being done in the spring will be critical as the Nittany Lions look to rebound from two seasons of .500 football. But just as spring training in baseball is a breath of fresh air for every team, spring football practices at Penn State allow for a sense of renewed pride and drive for the entire program.

Here are the top images shared on Twitter from Penn State’s first week of spring football practices.

Penn State also held its annual pro day for NFL draft hopefuls, including Arnold Ebiketie, Jahan Dotson and Jaquan Brisker, this week. Head coach James Franklin also opened the week of practices with his traditional spring press conference.

Penn State will conclude spring football practices with the annual Blue-White Game on Saturday, April 23.

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Five big questions for the Penn State defense

5 big questions for Penn State’s defense this spring.

Penn State’s defense was a strength in 2021 but faces some big questions this spring ahead of the 2022 season. With a number of notable departures to the NFL and a new defensive coordinator, this spring has plenty to be watching in Happy Valley on the defensive side of the football.

Penn State’s biggest change this season is the addition of defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. The former Miami head coach comes to State College to replace Brent Pry, who has left the program to become the head coach at Virginia Tech. Diaz brings a solid reputation as a defensive coordinator and Penn State appears to have found a terrific replacement for Pry. But Diaz will have some work to do in shaping the defense with a number of key starting jobs up for grabs this spring.

Penn State is set to open spring football practices on March 21, with the annual Blue-White Game currently scheduled for Saturday, April 23.

Here are five questions I have for Penn State’s offense that may be addressed this spring (we addressed the questions for the offense last week).

Who stood out at Penn State’s first winter football workout?

Penn State coaches named their standout players from the first day of winter workouts.

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It was just over a month ago that the final game of Penn State’s 2021 season was played, and spring football is still a little more than a month away. But winter workouts are underway in Happy Valley as the Nittany Lions begin preparing for what they hope will be a big rebound season, and some new faces are starting to get to the grind with their new teammates.

Winter workouts officially got underway bright and early Tuesday morning and assistant coaches made sure to spread some encouraging news about who showed up to compete in the practice sessions.

Both coordinators took to their Twitter accounts to share who their unit’s best player was. Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich named starting quarterback and team captain Sean Clifford as the offensive competitor of the day. Clifford announced his return for a rare sixth year of eligibility prior to Penn State’s appearance in the Outback Bowl. It will be the first offseason in which Clifford has had the same offensive coordinator to work with leading into a new season, and Clifford would like to make up for a few down moments in 2021 in his final year of eligibility.

Penn State’s new defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, also went with a team captain for his defensive competitor of the day, with Jonathan Sutherland getting the props of the day from the new defensive playcaller. Sutherland has been a standout on special teams during his time at Penn State, with some defense mixed in. But Sutherland is expected to be a top candidate to take on a larger role in the defense in 2022.

Other notable players from Penn State’s first winter workout included cornerback Kalen King, defensive end Nick Tarburton, cornerback Ji’Ayir Brown, running back Keyvone Lee, wide receiver Jaden Dottin, tight end Tyler Warren, offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, and punter Barney Amor.

These winter workouts are the first that have been opened to early enrollees in Penn State’s Class of 2022, so we will be keeping an eye out for possible shoutouts from the coaching staff for any of the new faces in the crowd. Penn State will eventually be adding to its roster with other recruits in the Class of 2022 that have not enrolled early and any possible additions from the transfer portal, including recent commit from Cornell, Hunter Nourzad.

Penn State’s spring game, the Blue-White Game, is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 23 in Beaver Stadium.

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Dan Connor among three new analysts at Penn State

Dan Connor returns to Penn State as James Franklin adds three analysts to staff

One of Penn State’s all-time best players is back in Happy Valley. Former linebacker Dan Connor has joined the football staff to take on a role as an analyst for head coach James Franklin. Connor is just one of the new additions to the football staff, however. Penn State is also welcoming Gabe Infante and Rick Lyster as analysts.

Infante was hired b new Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz when Diaz was briefly the head coach at Temple. Infante, an accomplished high school coach in Philadelphia, remained with the Temple staff after Diaz quickly left to become the head coach at Miami, but Infante became available following another coaching change at Temple this offseason.

Lyster is also connected to Diaz. He worked as an analyst for Miami under Diaz prior to his arrival at Penn State. Diaz having some familiarity with two analysts that will be helping him with the defensive game planning is certainly nice to have available.

Adding a Penn State legend in Connor is certainly nice to see as well. Connor has been building up his coaching career since retiring from his six-year NFL career. Connor has been a defensive assistant for Division 2 West Chester and a high school head coach in Philadelphia, and a defensive coordinator for Widener. Now, he takes his next step back with the program where he became the school’s all-time leading tackler and a two-time All-American.

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Miami just killed off one of Manny Diaz’s signatures

Miami just killed the turnover chain. Will Manny Diaz bring it to Penn State?

The Miami Hurricanes are ushering in a brand new era of football under new head coach Mario Cristobal, formerly of Oregon. And Cristobal just did away with one of the best things former head coach, and current Penn State defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz ever brought to Miami, a trend that swept the college football nation. Say good-bye to the days of the turnover chain in Miami.

“We got rid of the turnover chains,” Miami offensive line coach Alex Mirabel was quoted saying during a recruiting event recently. “We’re here to play football.”

The turnover chain, of course, was introduced to Miami by Diaz and it quickly became a gimmick that fired up the Hurricanes defense, and Diaz would eventually go on to be asked about the turnover chain every season as the tradition continued for the Hurricanes. Diaz introduced the idea of the turnover chain while on the Miami staff as a defensive coordinator for former head coach Mark Richt. Diaz acknowledged other teams had turnover gimmicks before the turnover chain existed, but Miami perfected the sideline celebration.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, the turnover chain gained recognition in its first season not just because it was flash and ridiculous, but because we saw it so often. In the first year of Miamis turnover chain, Diaz’s Hurricane defense forced 31 turnovers in a 10-3 season. Miami had forced 19 turnovers the previous season, prior to the debut of the turnover chain.

Miami made the sideline turnover gimmick a trend ever shool would eventually find a way to emulate. And Penn State was no exception. The running backs embraced the Lawn Boys Chain after scoring a rushing touchdown…

And who could forget the turnover thank-you card?

We’ll see if Diaz decides to embrace ant fun turnover gimmicks with the Nittany Lions as he gets settled in as defensive coordinator of the Nittany Lions this season.

As for Mirabal, the Miami assistant who said the turnover chain is dead so Miami can focus on winning football games? Let’s not pretend that Oregon didn’t embrace a similar gimmick.

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Missouri hires LSU’s former linebacker coach Blake Baker

Blake Baker heads to Missouri to coach the safety position.

Former LSU linebackers coach Blake Baker will now coach Safeties at Missouri for the Tigers. Baker joined LSU’s coaching staff last year. Before that, Baker was the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami for two years. Baker was also was the defensive coordinator at Louisianan Tech.

Baker was key to the success of Tigers linebacker Damone Clark. The linebacker career at LSU started slowly until coach baker joined the staff. Baker did an excellent job getting Clark to play fast trusting his instincts and skill set. Another critical component was paying attention to detail.

Under Baker’s teachings, Clark had the best season as a Tiger. Clark finished the season with 135 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, and one interception. Under Baker, Clark played very aggressively and fast, and it paid off. With his play, Clark shot up many scouts’ draft boards. He is now the No. 5 rated inside linebacker on Mel Kiper’s Jr. player rankings.

Under Baker, Missouri safeties will play aggressively. He comes from the Manny Diaz coaching tree; like Diaz, he believes in an aggressive, attacking style of defense that will put opposing offenses in uncomfortable situations. So look for Missouri safeties to fly all over the field, looking to make plays.

James Franklin confirms who will be Penn State’s defensive cooridnator in Outback Bowl

James Franklin confirms who will be Penn State’s defensive coordinator for the Outback Bowl against Arkansas

Penn State recently made a pretty big splash with the recent hiring of Manny Diaz to be the team’s new defensive coordinator. But head coach James Franklin isn’t about to let Diaz call the shots on defense just yet. Instead, the defensive coordinator responsibilities for the Outback Bowl will stay in-house.

Franklin recently confirmed in a media session that Anthony Poindexter will the acting defensive coordinator when Penn State faces Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2022. Poindexter had held the role of co-defensive coordinator and confirmed he would remain on Penn State’s staff after being viewed as a potential target for the head coaching vacancy at Virginia.

“Anthony Poindexter will call the defense for the bowl game,” Franklin confirmed in his Friday media session. “Manny is really here getting adjusted.”

Franklin explained that it would be unfair for Diaz and his staff to throw the new defensive coordinator into the position right away. Instead, Diaz will take the time to get caught up to speed with the team, the players, the recruiting efforts, and more before taking on the role of defensive coordinator fully after the Outback Bowl.

“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,” Franklin explained. “You know, just getting adjusted, recruiting, all those types of things.”

Diaz will ultimately replace Brent Pry as the team’s lead defensive coordinator. Pry left Penn State after a long tenure alongside Franklin to become the head coach at Virginia Tech.

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WATCH: Manny Diaz takes his first steps inside Beaver Stadium

WATCH: New Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz checks out his new home in Beaver Stadium

It was a big day for the Penn State football program on Saturday with the announcement that Manny Diaz had been named the new defensive coordinator. The former Miami head coach is a big splash hire for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions in an attempt to replace Brent Pry, who left Penn State to become a head coach at Virginia Tech. After a bit of a whirlwind day that drew plenty of positive reactions from every angle you could imagine, Diaz made his way to Happy Valley and stepped out to check out his new surroundings inside Beaver Stadium.

Penn State’s official Twiter account shared a short video following Diaz making his first walk out onto the field at Beaver Stadium and observed as he seemed to soak in the atmosphere in the empty Beaver Stadium. We can only imagine Diaz was picturing what it will be like to call the shots for the Penn State defense when the stadium is rocking and rolling for a big game against Ohio State or Michigan State, both making the trip to State College on next season’s Big Ten schedule.

It’s been quite a couple of weeks for Diaz with his messy removal as head coach at Miami. Miami seemingly left Diaz hanging while waiting to know for sure if it would be able to hire Mario Cristobal away from Oregon. Of course, Miami did hire Cristobal as their new head coach, leaving Diaz on the coaching market once again. Fortunately for Penn State, Diaz was ready to jump right back into the defensive coordinator saddle again, a position he had been widely respected in for quite some time before getting the chance to be a head coach for the Hurricanes.

Whether this ends up being a long-term coaching situation for Diaz or if he will be ready to give head coaching another chance should the right opportunity comes along in the next few years remains to be seen. But it does look as though Penn State will benefit in the short-term with Diaz coming to Penn State to serve as defensive coordinator.

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Best Twitter reactions to Penn State hiring Manny Diaz as defensive cooridinator

College football Twitter reacts toi Penn State naming Manny Diaz defensive coordinator

Penn State created some headlines on a busy day around college football. On the same day as the Army-Navy Game, the awarding of the Heisman Trophy, and a handful of coaching hires around the country being named, Penn State hiring Manny Diaz to be its defensive coordinator still managed to turn some heads.

The reaction to the news out of Happy Valley with the addition of the former Miami head coach to fill the vacancy on the staff created when Brent Pry left for Virginia Tech to be the head coach has been overwhelmingly positive from all fronts.

From media reactions to former Miami football players wishing their former head coach well, and fans of the Nittany Lions and more, the hiring of Diaz has been seen as a positive one all around.

“That’s a great landing spot there with Brent Pry off to Virginia Tech. Going to do a great job,” Kirk Herbstreit said on ESPN’s College GameDay as the news was breaking around the college football world. “Made his name, obviously as a defensive coordinator. Has a lot of guys coming back. Saw Sean Clifford announced he’s coming back, so Penn State’s in a good spot there.”

As for the program Diaz leaves behind, it seems as though he is leaving his players on good terms, while still being upset with how the administration ousted him in favor of former Oregon head coach Mario Cristiobal.

NEXT: How recruits and fans are reacting to the news

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Penn State hires former Miami head coach Manny Diaz to be defensive cooridnator

Penn State makes a major defensive coordinator hire with Manny Diaz

Just when it seemed Penn State may have had its defensive coordinator position figured out, the Nittany Lions landed a big-name hire to fill the position. Manny Diaz, the former head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, has officially been named the new defensive coordinator of Penn State. Penn State announced the hire Saturday morning.

“We are thrilled to add Manny Diaz as our defensive coordinator,” head coach James Franklin said in a released statement. “Manny is a veteran defensive play-caller whose head coaching experience will bring tremendous value to our organization. He has an innovative approach to complement his extensive Xs & Os knowledge which he developed through his stops at multiple Power Five conferences. Manny’s defensive philosophy is in line with our scheme and will help in the transition with our current team. His defenses have been aggressive and led the country in several categories throughout his career.”

This is a massive hire for Franklin, as Diaz is a well-respected defensive coach with years of success as a defensive coordinator. Diaz was hired to be the head coach at Temple prior to the 2019 season but quickly moved to Miami once the Hurricanes made him an offer to be their head coach. Diaz coached Miami for three seasons as the head coach before being ousted by the university in favor of former Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal. Diaz’s exit from Miami was a mess handled by the Miami administration, so Penn State should feel fortunate the Hurricanes decided to part ways with their former head coach.

“My family and I are so excited to come to Happy Valley and join the Penn State family,” Diaz said in a released statement. “The opportunity to lead Linebacker U is an honor and I will work every day to uphold that tradition. Penn State’s defense has been among the nation’s best, both historically and under Coach Franklin. I will continue to pursue excellence with our defensive unit on a daily basis. I can’t wait to get on the field with this talented group, to get to know them, and to ultimately develop them as football players, students and young men.”

Diaz will be taking on his first job in the Big Ten but he brings plenty of years of experience coaching some of the nation’s most respected defensive teams. Diaz has been a defensive assistant at NC State, Mississippi State, Texas, and Miami in addition to his few years as head coach at Miami.

Diaz will fill the staff position left open by Brent Pry, he left Penn State for an opportunity to be the head coach at Virginia Tech. Penn State’s co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter was thought by some to be the most likely candidate to take on the role full-time after Virginia moved in a different direction to fill their head coaching vacancy. Poindexter has stated he will remain with Penn State, which will give Diaz a solid coach to be working alongside with.

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