Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/260491
way possible, however Coach Franklin sees fit for me to fit in. It's a staff that's been together for three years [at Vander- bilt]. I have to fit into that staff. I can give them the Penn State perspective, and obviously Coach Franklin is going to put the exclamation point on it and have us do it his way." Before returning to Penn State, Smith spent 11 seasons as head coach at Gate- way High in his hometown of Mon- roeville, Pa., and one season coaching wide receivers at Temple. The forces that would eventually bring him back to University Park began com- ing together years ago. Franklin used to recruit in western Pennsylvania and got to know Smith when the former Nittany Lion was coaching at Gateway. Franklin said he keeps a list of people who make a positive impression on him in case he has a job that needs filled or just wants to get to know them better. Smith, he said, made that list years ago. "Some guys have a presence," Franklin said. "You walk in, and he has a pres- ence. You see how the students interact with him. You see how the administra- tion interacts with him, the pride, the respect they have for him. The guy is special. I knew that right away. I thought he was going to be a guy who had a chance to go to the next level and be successful." After more than a decade at Gateway, Smith joined Matt Ruhl's staff at Temple last fall, working with the Owls' wide receivers. As it happened, Temple line- backers coach Mike Siravo was a friend of Franklin's defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt, Bob Shoop. Shoop and Sira- vo talked last fall, and during their con- versation, Siravo praised Smith's profes- sionalism. Franklin brought Shoop along with him to Penn State, and Shoop be- gan thinking about that conversation as Franklin and his assistants looked to round out their staff. – T H E N E W S T A F F C O O R D I N A T O R S P O S I T I O N C O A C H E S S JOHN DONOVAN TITLE Offensive coordina- tor/tight ends coach HOMETOWN River Edge, N.J. ALMA MATER Johns Hopkins FRANKLIN CONNECTION Donovan worked with Franklin at Maryland from 2001-04 and 2008-10. When Franklin left for Vanderbilt, Donovan joined him as offensive co- ordinator. QUOTABLE "When we formed this staff at Van- derbilt three years ago, we hadn't worked together before. We got together and found out really quickly that we liked each other and there were a lot of great ideas from a lot of guys from different stops." CHARLES HUFF TITLE Special teams coor- dinator/running backs coach HOMETOWN Denton, Md. ALMA MATER Hampton FRANKLIN CONNECTION Huff was a member of Mary- land's staff in 2009 and was running backs coach at Vanderbilt in 2011 before leaving for the Buffalo Bills. QUOTABLE "Coach Donovan told me I didn't have to work on punts because he was going to go 100 percent on third down, so that makes it easy. Coach Shoop told me we didn't have to work on punt returns be- cause he was going to get turnovers. Looks like all we have to work on is kickoffs and field goals, so it's easy." BOB SHOOP TITLE Defensive coordina- tor/safeties coach HOMETOWN Oakmont, Pa. ALMA MATER Yale FRANKLIN CONNECTION Shoop was Franklin's de- fensive coordinator and safeties coach the past three seasons at Vander- bilt. QUOTABLE "This staff re- spects more than you could possibly imagine the history and tradition of Penn State football, but I think you'll see a staff that will bring a 2014-type edge to the program that kids will like to play for, that the student-athletes will really like and gravi- tate toward and want to be a part of." JOSH GATTIS TITLE Offensive recruiting coordinator/wide receivers coach HOMETOWN Durham, N.C. ALMA MATER Wake Forest FRANKLIN CONNECTION After two playing two seasons with the Chicago Bears, Gattis got into coaching. In 2012-13, he served as of- fensive recruiting coordi- nator/wide receivers coach at Vanderbilt. QUOTABLE "There wouldn't be another opportunity in the country that could take me from this place, and I'm really excited to be here at Penn State. I'm excited to be with Coach Franklin, and I look forward to the future that we're able to build here." HERB HAND TITLE Run game coordina- tor/offensive line coach HOMETOWN Westmoreland, N.Y. ALMA MATER Hamilton Col- lege FRANKLIN CONNECTION Hand had been at Vanderbilt for a year when Franklin arrived. He stayed on as line coach and last year was named run game coordinator. QUOTABLE "This is one of the finest institutions in the country. It's one of the top traditional football pro- grams since the first time they laced up a football. And from a personal standpoint, the opportunity to come into the community and make an impact was part of my decision process." D I k Mark Selders/ Penn State Athletics Mark Selders/ Penn State Athletics Mark Selders/ Penn State Athletics Mark Selders/ Penn State Athletics Mark Selders/ Penn State Athletics M