Penn State spring questions for the coaching staff: Who will Terry Smith pick as his first-teamers?
Penn State football is now just days away from the start of spring practice.
The Nittany Lions kick things off on Monday, March 21, and culminate their 15 days of drills with the annual Blue-White game on April 23 at Beaver Stadium.
Blue-White Illustrated has been passing the time to Monday by looking at a key question facing each assistant. Today, corners coach Terry Smith is featured.
The Smith file
You might find it hard to believe, but it’s true: Terry Smith is now the longest-tenured assistant coach in the James Franklin era.
The Penn State alum who played receiver in college joined Franklin’s staff on the other side of the ball back in 2014. The 52-year old Aliquippa native started his coaching career as an assistant at Hempfield High back in 1996. His first college job was as the passing game coordinator at Duquesne from 1997-2000. Then, he would begin what would later become a legendary prep run at Gateway as the offensive coordinator in 2001. A year later, he became the school’s head coach, and held that role as well as athletic director, starting in 2003, until 2012. He then spent one season coaching receivers at Temple before coming to PSU.
Smith’s role has evolved over time at Penn State. Hired first as the Defensive Recruiting Coordinator and corners coach, he added the title of Assistant Head Coach in 2016. In 2021, he was promoted to Associate Head Coach.
Numerous players who trained under Smith have gone on to the NFL.
What is the biggest spring question facing Penn State corners coach Terry Smith?
Unlike some of the coaches we have profiled in this series, Smith has a fairly straightforward spring ahead.
Tariq Castro-Fields left to vacate one starting spot. But, Joey Porter Jr., elected to return for another season, and so he has one spot locked up for Penn State. Nickleback Daequan Hardy, an extremely valuable and maybe the most underrated member of the defense, is also back.
The big question facing Smith, then, is this: Who will his other starter be?
Fortunately for the Penn State assistant, he can start figuring that out this spring. The Lions do have corner Cam Miller coming in from the Class of 2023. But, while he may factor in, especially on special teams, in year one, he is not expected to compete for a starting role.
That means everyone who is going to is already on campus. As for the candidates, it’s hard to start the list with anyone other than Kalen King. The Detroit, Mich., native was a freshman phenom in 2021 and figures to be the starter when all is said and done. However, he will be pushed. Johnny Dixon figures to fight for a larger role in year two with the Lions. The position group is a bit lighter on numbers than it was before after Penn State moved Zakee Wheatley to safety. But, we’ll see if Jeffrey Davis Jr., can make a move up the board.
All told, Smith should feel happy about where things stand. But, he must start answering this key question as soon as spring begins.
