On a cold and gloomy Monday afternoon in State College, Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith met with the media inside Beaver Stadium.
He discussed the uncertain future for both him and his players, shared thoughts on the defense’s performance against Indiana on Saturday and evaluated quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer’s three-game sample size.
Here’s what he had to say.
Looking ahead
While most of the team’s focus is rightly oriented toward the remainder of the season, including three remaining games against Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers, Smith said there’s been conversations between him and players regarding their futures with the program.
It’s not dissimilar from former head coach James Franklin, who had late-season discussions with veterans about their decisions to either return for another season at Penn State or move on to the next stage of their lives, NFL or otherwise.
“I’ve had some conversations with some players just talking about the future and what their plans are,” Smith said. “Essentially the consensus right now is just wait and see. It depends on who this new head coach is, and then decisions are going to be made from there.”
Smith indicated no final decisions have been made, other than tight end Joey Schlaffer, who is no longer with the program and intends to enter the transfer portal when it opens. Factors such as the next head coach, his new scheme and the players’ role within it will be important to consider.
When discussing his own future with the program, he said there have been no guarantees.
“I’m just like them. I don’t know,” Smith said. “No one’s giving me confirmation and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be here.’ So again, we live in the moment. So head coach right now, and so I’m making these decisions.”
Defense development
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ unit held the Hoosiers to 27 points, which doesn’t seem particularly impressive but tied their second-lowest output of the season.
“Defensively, I thought our guys played really hard,” Smith said. “I thought our defense started to take form, started to look like our old defense.”
After poor performances against UCLA, Northwestern, Iowa and Ohio State, Smith felt the unit returned to the caliber of play expected from a Penn State defense. They held Indiana to just 3.5 yards per carry and sacked quarterback Fernando Mendoza a season-high three times.
The secondary played “extremely well,” he said, and most of the passing yards came from Hoosier receivers making “50/50 plays” and not from defensive lapses.
Smith cited a combination of factors, including players becoming more comfortable in Knowles’ scheme, simplified play-calling and an uptick in blitz packages resulting in constant pressure.
Grunkemeyer’s growth
Though he’s started just three games this season and lost all of them, Grunkemeyer has shown flashes and made plays against some of the country’s top defenses.
Despite ultimately losing to the Hoosiers, Grunkemeyer’s 219 yards were the most by a Penn State quarterback in any game this season, and he connected on several explosive passing plays, an element that had been sorely missing.
“I thought Ethan was big time in the second half. You know, when you look at the adversity coming out of the half, he threw the interception. He could easily hang it, hung his head at that point. He battled back. He made some big throws. We started to throw the ball down the field, and he gave us a chance. He fought us back into the game. “
Smith said Grunkemeyer has continued to improve each week, which is supported by his linear progression on the stat sheet. He also identified areas for improvement which can continue to elevate his game moving forward, like creating opportunities for yards after the catch.
With Drew Allar off to the NFL this offseason and Grunkemeyer’s lackluster start against the Buckeyes, there was talk about Penn State dipping into the portal for the first transfer quarterback in program history.
Although a new head coach may have a different opinion, Smith gave Grunkemeyer a vote of confidence heading into next season.
“You know, we have a quarterback for the future.”
