Penn State Sports Magazine
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3 6 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M less of who has played, has remained largely the same. Husky will rush the passer about 30-50 times in a season and spend the remaining snaps split be- tween rushing and coverage defense." Franklin has often said that he views coordinators as essentially the head coaches of their units — offense, defense and special teams. Allen figures to have little difficulty stepping into that role. "I'm looking for a leader of the de- fense," Franklin said. "That leadership is not only the staff and the players and the fundamentals and the schemes, it's all those things that are going to allow us to play really good defense, which we've done for a long time." Striving For Greatness Another big question that Allen faced at his introduction concerned his ap- proach to taking over a Penn State de- fense that has soared in recent years. Under Diaz, now the head coach at Duke, the Nittany Lions were second in the FBS in total defense last season (247.6 yards per game) and third in scor- ing defense (13.5 points per game). Allen is undaunted by the strato- spheric expectations that those num- bers have created at Penn State. Indeed, the allure of that responsibility was a big part of his decision to take the job. "You want to be at a place where ex- pectations are high," Allen said. "You look at what they were able to accom- plish this past season, it's pretty im- pressive. It doesn't happen very often. You want to go places where the stan- dards are high. That's what's been set here. "Hats off to Coach Diaz and what he did, and obviously the whole staff. They did a great job and had great chemistry and attention to detail. There are a lot of great people in that room. It didn't happen by accident. "That excites me. I want to be able to build off what they've had here, and I love the fact that there's a standard of expectation that you're going to play great defense at Penn State. That's been going on a long time, before any of us got here. That's that positive pressure that you want — to allow yourself to be driven toward greatness." ■ 2024 LOOK AHEAD THE DEFENSE New coordinator Tom Allen was not in charge of Penn State's defense when it took the field for the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30. But prior to the matchup against Ole Miss, he strolled around the field with the look of someone who was ready to assume his full duties. Shifting between an engaging smile while fist-bump- ing staff members and a scowl that made it appear as though he was ready to play the game himself, Allen had the look of a man ready to take over one of the nation's best defenses. On Jan. 1, he did just that. Now, Penn State's players are eager to see what the future holds under Allen's leadership. "He's a great guy," rising junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. said. "I've talked to Tom Allen a number of times. He brings the energy. That's what you've got to have on defense, that energy and that juice. "Seeing that he has that to him, I'm looking forward to getting to know him more and seeing what else he brings to the table. What I've seen lately, I'm very ex- cited to be coached by him next year." James Franklin hired the former Indiana head coach following Manny Diaz's departure for Duke. Allen is following the same path as his predeces- sor, having landed as Penn State's DC after being fired from a head coach- ing job. Some thought the move might ruffle the feathers of co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter, who had overseen the defense on an interim basis for the bowl game. However, the opposite appears to be true. "I got into coaching to help kids, and I have a passion for football," Poindexter said. "Really, I want to see kids experience what I experienced. ... I had a lot of experiences through my playing career. And if they can just feel some of those moments, and I can help them feel some of those moments, that's all I really want. "I'm excited that he's here. He's a good person, and a really good coach. I'm excited to get started with him." Departing Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs won't get to play for Allen, but he took time to meet with the veteran coach before turning his attention to the NFL Draft. Like Winston, Jacobs said he's confident Allen will be able to build on the foundation that PSU has laid. "I think he knows we have great groundwork here at Penn State, and he just wants to keep pushing and continuing what we have as a defense," Jacobs said. "I just know he's go- ing to put the defense in a good position. He has a lot of great ideas about what he's going to do with the defense. I think it'll be really good." — Greg Pickel Rising junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. said that Allen "brings the energy" to his interac- tions with Penn State players. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Players, Coaches Laud PSU's Decision To Bring Tom Allen Aboard Allen was acquainted with James Franklin from their time as rival Big Ten coaches. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL