Blue White Illustrated

NEWS & NOTES James Franklin likes to say that he's in the relationship business. There's no stronger evidence of that than his asso- ciation with Brent Pry Franklin and Pry have a bond that dates back to their days at East Strouds- burg University in the early 1990s, back when Franklin was the starting quarter- back and Pry was a graduate assistant working with the outside linebackers and defensive backs. Years later, when Franklin was putting together his staff at Vanderbilt, he hired Pry away from Georgia Southern to coach the linebackers. The realization that they were about to take on the biggest challenge of their respective ca- reers gave both men a giddy thrill. "I re- member the first week we were there," Pry said a few years later. "Everything had happened so fast. I'd been at Geor- gia Southern, and he was coming from Maryland. We climbed in his SUV, and we're going somewhere, and he looks at me and says, 'We're in the SEC!' It hit us both that here we were, coming from Division II East Stroud, and we're sit- ting here in the SEC with a great oppor- tunity." In January 2014, Pry followed Franklin to Penn State to accept an even bigger challenge: the opportunity to revive a Nittany Lion program that was looking to re-establish itself in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal and the abrupt departure of its first would-be savior, Bill O'Brien. Born in nearby Altoona, Pry grew up "admiring, loving and respect- ing" Penn State, just as Franklin had, and was eager to "play a part in return- ing it to its glory." As it turns out, his role in that process will be even bigger than expected. On Jan. 10, Penn State announced that Pry had been named defensive coordinator following Bob Shoop's decision to leave for a similar post at Tennessee. Pry's promotion was not a surprise; he had, after all, been named co-defensive co- ordinator and assistant head coach when he was hired in 2014. But the speed with which Penn State made the move may have caught some off-guard. In December, Franklin had spent two weeks fielding phone calls and inter- viewing candidates for the vacant offen- sive coordinator spot that eventually went to Fordham's Joe Moorhead. But when it came time to replace Shoop, the Lions' third-year head coach needed less than 24 hours to make his decision. "I'm a huge Brent Pry fan. He's been extremely valuable," Franklin said in an- nouncing the change. "I don't think he gets enough credit as the co-defensive coordinator for our defensive success over the last five years [at Vanderbilt and Penn State]. He's my assistant head coach, and [while] that is just a title at a lot of places, for us, that's not the situa- tion. Brent and [strength coach] Dwight Galt are the two guys I bounce a lot of decisions off of." Pry, he continued, is "not only ex- tremely valuable on our staff, but he's one of my best friends." In a prepared statement, Pry said he F O O T B A L L Coaching moves reshape Lions' sta Pry named defensive coordinator; Limegrover takes over o ensive line | BRENT PRY PSU DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR I am excited about the future of this program and this defense. ... I'm looking forward to the successes that lie ahead for our football family." " Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

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