Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L > > coach – a man in his mid-40s with 19 seasons of experience teaching the game of college football, a man responsible for overseeing the Nittany Lions' most vaunted defensive unit – was catching rain drops with his tongue like a little kid. "Austin was like, 'What the heck is going on with this guy?' " Spencer said. "But all those guys have their own issues any- way, so they can't say much about me." Known affectionately as Coach Chaos around the Lasch Building, Spencer ac- knowledges that his energy level can some- times manifest itself in unusual ways that go beyond what he described as the typical "running around and screaming" during a weekday afternoon practice. Where does all that energy come from? Maybe some trace amounts come from his habit of drinking a few cups of coffee each day. But the rest is naturally occurring. Spencer is just an enthusiastic person. He can't help it, and he wouldn't want to change even if he could. Coaching football at Penn State, 20 years after graduating as a free safety and team captain at Clarion University, Spencer is truly living his own dream. Even now, nearly two full years into his tenure at the helm of one of the Nittany Lions' strongest units, he still marvels at how it all unfolded. "I'm so blessed to coach at Penn State, a place I've driven past in recruiting. I dreamed of running out that tunnel in Beaver Stadium," he said. "With that, there's a responsibility I have to myself, from where I've come from." Where Spencer comes from, of course, isn't just a place but a state of mind. As with many of the coaches on James Franklin's staff, his path to Penn State in- cludes a succession of short stops at in- creasingly prominent schools, beginning in 1996 when he was hired to coach run- ning backs at Shippensburg. From there, it was on to Trinity College, Massachusetts, Holy Cross, Villanova, Hofstra, UMass again, Bowling Green and Vanderbilt, all before landing in Happy Valley. None of those stays lasted more than three years, but every step of the way, Spencer worked tirelessly to produce results. In Nashville, with a chance to prove himself at the game's highest level, he got the results he was looking for. He had be- gun to specialize in defensive line play during his first stint at UMass in 2001, and the philosophies he had incorporated into his coaching over the years helped turn a floundering Vanderbilt line into a team strength. The Commodores finished among the nation's top 25 teams in total defense in each of the staff's three seasons there – against behemoth opponents in the Southeastern Conference, no less – and one of the main reasons for their suc- cess was their performance up front. When Franklin made the decision to bring Spencer to Penn State, there was little that the longtime assistant coach felt ill-prepared to handle. That included the realization that he was replacing a beloved figure at Penn State. Larry Johnson Sr. had served as interim head coach fol- lowing Bill O'Brien's move to the Houston Texans, and during the 15 seasons that he was defensive line coach, the Lions churned out top-end units year after year, producing seven first-team All-Americans, six Big Ten Defensive Players of the Year, and 15 first-team All-Conference selec- tions. Inevitably, Spencer was asked upon his arrival how he planned to fill the void that Johnson's departure created. While paying absolute respect to Johnson, who had gone on to join Urban Meyer's staff at Ohio State, Spencer said he would simply try SEAN SPENCER There was no way I was going to be intimidated. I've been preparing for this situation my entire life." " Steve Manuel

• Cover