Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
1 8 M A Y 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M It was not a foregone conclu- sion that Terry Smith would be back for a 13th season as a mem- ber of Penn State's coaching staff. After steering the Nittany Lions confidently through the turbulent weeks that followed James Frank- lin's dismissal last October, Smith received some interest from other schools seeking a head coach. In the end, the former Penn State wide receiver opted to re- main at his alma mater. Smith, who ended his tenure as interim coach with four consecutive vic- tories, joined Matt Campbell's new staff in December as associ- ate head coach. He has contin- ued to oversee the cornerbacks, a role in which he excelled dur- ing Franklin's tenure, and he has expressed excitement about the program's potential under its new leadership team. Smith recently talked with Penn State beat reporters about the transition to a new era. Q U E S T I O N : A r e t h e r e changes that Matt Cambell has made that are reminiscent of when you were a player, things that may seem new, but really are old, and you know that they'll work here? SMITH: "It's a blue-collar ap- proach — team, togetherness, no one's bigger than the team. You're being held accountable. If you're late, you're going to be punished for it. If you don't follow the rules, there is a true punishment, not a slap on the wrist. "That's what I knew when I came through here. You were accountable. You knew what to expect by your actions. Do right, no action. Do wrong, there's something coming. I think that core fun- damental of accountability has shown up again." QUESTION: With so many new faces at Penn State, are some people coming to you and asking, 'What was it like before? What's this all about? Who's this guy?' SMITH: "I guess some people are. I'm going into Year 13, so I guess I have some institutional knowledge." QUESTION: Since 2021, you've worked with a lot of defensive coor- dinators at Penn State — Brent Pry, Manny Diaz, Tom Allen, Jim Knowles and now D'Anton Lynn. What have you taken away from your first few months working with D'Anton? And how much of an adjustment has it been for you to just keep adapting to new styles of de- fense? SMITH: "Well, I'm very happy to adjust to his style. D'Anton Lynn is as good as they come. He's a phenomenal teacher. And when someone is such a good teacher, learning is … I wouldn't say easy, but he helps you learn it and understand it. He takes his time in teaching, from the fundamentals to the tech- niques to the drills, all the way to the scheme and why. It just helps make everything make sense. "I'm super excited to work un- derneath him and try to help us get to be the No. 1 defense in the country. We've always been a re- ally good defense, and I have no doubt in my mind that we're go- ing to be back at the top again." QUESTION: Matt Campbell has had some really high praise for Zion Tracy this spring. With Zion coming up on his senior season as a part of your second- ary, what have you seen from him? And what do you think he showed the new members of the staff? SMITH: "Zion is just being Zion. He's a tremendous talent. He's got a lot of potential. He's made some big plays and played a lot of football here. And you know, with the coaches getting to know him and seeing him for the first time, Zion will be a ma- jor contributor, as he's been for us [the past few years]. I love him to death, and he's going to make some plays for us. We're just try- ing to get him to be consistent, one play after another." QUESTION: How do you see Zion fitting into a positional role? He could be a nickel, a cornerback or a safety — just kind of all over the place. What can he do to help you put your best combi- nation on the field? SMITH: "He's the Swiss Army knife. Obviously, he's the nickel, but we're going to need him to play some safety. We're going to need him to play some corner. He's got to play where neces- sary. As we figure out the back end and who our best five or six guys are, he's the one who can fill in where it's the weakest link and be great at it." ■ Sitting Down With Associate Head Football Coach Terry Smith Smith is the longest-serving member of Penn State's current coaching staff. The former PSU wide receiver was hired by James Franklin in 2014 to oversee the Nittany Lions' cornerbacks and has been in that role ever since. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER