Penn State's coordinator helps defense turn it around

The difference over four weeks for the Penn State defense couldn't have been more remarkable, from the frustration and embarrassment of a 39-point blowout at Michigan to the euphoria of shutting down Ohio State in the closing minutes of a 24-21 upset.

Defensive coordinator Brent Pry, who saw injuries decimate the Nittany Lions' linebacker corps, forcing him to juggle inexperienced players and switch them to new positions while dealing with a young defensive line, has watched his group improve and mature and, most important, respond to the challenge presented by the nation's No. 2 team.

"It makes you so happy; it's very fulfilling," Pry said Thursday in a conference call with reporters. "These guys work so hard and they put so much into it. The staff does as well. When you have a victory like that, it wasn't just beating Ohio State, it was taking that next step.

"You see progress. You see more progress. Well, here you go - here's a bigger hurdle, here's the next step and it's a bigger step. When you achieve that, it kind of lets you know all that hard work and all that grind is worth it, and that you're working in the right direction and you're doing the right things."

Pry is in his sixth season on James Franklin's coaching staff going back to their first season together at Vanderbilt, and his first as defensive coordinator. His father, Jim, was Franklin's offensive coordinator when Penn State's head coach was a quarterback at East Stroudsburg.

Franklin, who promoted Pry to coordinator when Bob Shoop left for Tennessee after last season, likes Pry's style of coaching - demanding of his players but correcting them in a positive way.

"It's the way he handled losing all those defensive linemen [from last season] and knowing that we had a bunch of inexperienced guys that would have to fill in that role and how he handled it," Franklin said, "how he persevered and handled the linebacker situation and losing all those guys. I've been in a lot of places where that's happened and there's a lot of 'woe is me' by the coach. If you do that, the players take on that identity. He hasn't been like that."

Pry said the "positive yet demanding" style is aided by the tone that Franklin has set, remaining upbeat through adverse times. Some of that, he said, he learned from his father, who coached for more than 40 years.

"When you're the leader, you really have a lot of influence on these young men," he said. "I think you have to be careful in how you present things. We're trying to teach young guys to kind of ultimately be their best, to reach their potential, whether it's playing in that individual game or over the course of their career here. I think there's a way for constructive criticism."

He said it's important to build a relationship with players, and develop trust and respect so both coach and player can work through any situation.

The Nittany Lions, who play Saturday at Purdue, appear to have come full circle defensively. In their 49-10 loss at Michigan on Sept. 24, they allowed 515 total yards and allowed the Wolverines to convert 11 of 14 third downs.

The Lions gave up 413 yards to the Buckeyes but only 19 points (two more came on a safety). After Curtis Samuel's 74-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, Ohio State managed just 103 total yards the rest of the way, a run that included four of the six sacks of quarterback J.T. Barrett.

Pry said many of his players "played their best football" against Ohio State. Now Penn State must build off that momentum against a Purdue team that has just one Big Ten win.

"I think the challenge now is you don't want a setback, and I don't necessarily mean on the scoreboard," he said. "You want to keep progressing as a unit and keep seeing guys getting better."

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq