STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Since he became Penn State’s interim coach, Terry Smith has put things bluntly.
Smith admits, after this weekend’s regular-season finale at Rutgers he’s not sure what comes next for a program still seeking a permanent head coach.
“We’re encouraging our guys to keep an open mind,” Smith said. “We don’t know what’s next, so the most important thing is that we go play hard Saturday, put on film what you want anybody to know about you on Saturday. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”
A win against the Scarlet Knights (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) on Saturday will make Penn State (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) bowl eligible. It’ll be a consolation prize of sorts in a season that quickly devolved from a preseason No. 2 ranking to longtime coach James Franklin’s firing on Oct. 12 after Penn State lost its first three Big Ten games, including back-to-back games in which the Nittany Lions were favored by 20-plus points.
Before then, the Nittany Lions had their sights set on a return to the college football playoffs. Now, dozens of them will have to decide if they’ll even return to Happy Valley where they once committed to play for Franklin.
Since Franklin was fired on Oct. 12, 19 recruits have decommitted from Penn State’s 2026 class. Franklin and Smith — who’s been one of the program’s best recruiters since 2014 — brought in 28 scholarship freshman a year ago along with eight transfer-portal additions, six of whom will be eligible next season.
Among those freshmen, cornerback Daryus Dixson and receiver Koby Howard are waiting to see how the next few weeks play out. The NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2 and closes two weeks later.
Penn State does not usually allow true freshmen to speak to reporters.
“I haven’t really been like too stressed on it because as everybody knows, we are all still in season,” Dixson said. “So I feel like if clutters of things like that are coming into minds of people and of our team, I just feel like everybody should focus on the main goal.”
Howard, from Pensacola, Fla., did not play in Penn State’s first three conference losses, and said Franklin’s firing proceeded a “tough” few weeks.
In that span, the Nittany Lions coughed up a fourth-quarter lead to Iowa on the road, kept pace with No. 1 Ohio State for just a half, then lost on a late touchdown catch to No. 2 Indiana.
“I wanted to come to a school that put people in the (NFL),” Howard said after practice on Wednesday evening. “That played a big part. A head coach that was going to be here for a while, but you know, things didn’t pan out that way and I just felt like I could come in and have a huge impact here at Penn State.”
Over the last two games, both Penn State wins, the offense has picked up the pace. Howard has five catches for 99 yards over the last five.
Howard said he committed to a coach, but also acknowledged the perks of a program that Franklin helped build up over his 12 years. As he took questions from reporters, he stood on a re-turfed indoor practice facility that’s seen multiple waves of improvements since 2014.
“I love Penn State,” Howard said. “I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t. Things didn’t go as planned for me. A lot of people think I should’ve played earlier, but at the end of the day I just have to trust my coaches and that’s what happened. Now that I have my opportunity, I just have to capitalize on it.”
Smith, a Penn State alum who played for Joe Paterno, said he has not determined whether or not to stick with Franklin’s policy of removing players from the roster before the bowl game should they choose to transfer.
If he could provide certainty for his players to stop the potential looming defections, he would. Athletic director Pat Kraft has said Smith is a candidate for the job.
“No one knows Penn State better than me of all the candidates out there,” Smith said. “I know the history of Penn State. I know the culture, the DNA. I know the locker room. I know administration. I think I’m a good leader. I think I’m a leader of men. You know, that will take care of itself when the time comes.”
By TRAVIS JOHNSON
Associated Press
