Blue White Illustrated

A T T H E 2 0 1 8 N I T T A N Y L I O N S maybe one team is really excited about playing in that game and the other team maybe isn't." Penn State could easily have fallen prey to that kind of thinking. Players had made no secret of their desire to return to the Rose Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff field, but that didn't happen. The Lions suffered narrow losses at Ohio State and Michigan State, and those coveted invitations to Pasadena went instead to Oklahoma and Georgia. But the Nittany Lions didn't appear to waste any time in December obsessing over what might have been. Franklin called the Fiesta Bowl "a tremendous opportunity," and his players treated it like one. Their sense of purpose was evi- dent in the game's opening moments when they went 83 yards in eight plays for an early touchdown against the fifth- ranked defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Huskies had been al- lowing only 92.3 rushing yards per game, but Penn State handily topped that total in the first half, eventually fin- ishing with 203 yards on the ground and a Fiesta Bowl-record 545 total yards for the game. It didn't hurt that Saquon Barkley was in the backfield for much of the after- noon. That, too, was a testament to the sense of camaraderie that has been in- stilled in the program over the years. Many other draft-worthy prospects across the country, from Florida State's Derwin James to Oregon's Royce Free- man, opted out of their bowl games. But Barkley chose to play, taking that risk because of how much he suspects he'll miss Penn State when he begins his pro career. "I don't want to look back and be like, 'Oh, wait, I should have done this, or I 1,000 all-purpose yards in a season. Corley spent six seasons on the staff at his alma mater, William & Mary, be- fore heading the Storrs. As the wide re- ceivers coach and passing game coordinator in 2013, he guided Tre McBride to first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association recognition. McBride was the first Tribe wideout in more than a decade to claim first-team honors. Corley served as the quarter- backs coach from 2010-12. In his two seasons as the running backs coach at William & Mary (2008- 09), Corley mentored Jonathan Grimes, who broke freshman records for both rushing and all-purpose yards and eventually jumped into the pro- gram's top 10 in career rushing and rushing touchdowns as a sophomore. He graduated as the most decorated player in CAA history with 11 All-Con- ference honors in his career. Corley played in the Canadian Foot- ball League for the Calgary Stampeders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He also played for the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. Corley was a four-year starter at quarterback for William & Mary, where he broke the program's career records for passing yards (9,805), total offense (10,948) and touchdown passes (73). He earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors in 1999 and was a three-time All-Conference honoree (second team in 2001 and '02, third team in 2000). In 2001, he led the Tribe to an Atlantic 10 title and an NCAA playoff appearance, as he threw for 2,808 yards and 21 touchdowns. A native of Salisbury, N.C., he gradu- ated from William & Mary with a de- gree in history in 2002. Corley was in- ducted into the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. Corley and his wife, Lindsay, have a 7-year-old daughter, Charlie, and 4- year-old son, Bishop. ■ Exactly the kind of hire I was expect- ing. So many of Franklin's coaches can coach so many different positions, so when one gets promoted or leaves, they can hire from within to fill that spot. The offense is loaded with coaches who can coach multiple positions. Moose441 Random thought: I wonder if, coming from that triple option attack back- ground during his time at Army, Corley will have some ideas to contribute to PSU's run game? It's not an identical system, but both are option attacks and what's important would be his thoughts on various blocking schemes that could possibly help PSU. It's just a thought, but I'd expect Rahne to POSSIBLY pick his brain some about Army's VERY suc- cessful running attack. SJLuvsLions I don't think there is much reason to be concerned with this hire. Coach Franklin seems to have the ability/tal- ent to make the right moves and press the right buttons. Remember, Huff only had two years of experience coaching running backs before coming to PSU. He spent one year as an assis- tant running backs coach at Buffalo in the NFL and one year as RB coach at Western Michigan. Before that, he was a special teams coach and an offensive line coach. Coach Corley has as much, maybe a year more, RB coaching expe- rience than Huff. I think this will work out. FlaPaLion I think Franklin was not looking for a finished product, but someone with the potential for a lot of growth. And a willingness to drive late at night to be first at a recruit's school the next morning. Old as Dirt S I T E L I N E S B W I . R I V A L S . C O M R E A D E R S S O U N D O F F

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