Down a quartet of veteran defensive linemen, Sean Spencer could be a man on the spot.
But, really, he’s spot on.
For lesser coaches than the man known as Chaos, an offseason like the one Penn State had along its D-line could have wreaked havoc.
Or maybe even chaos.
Gone to NFL training camps are last year’s starting D-tackle tandem, Curtis Cothran and Parker Cothren. Gone to premature football retirements are former starting D-ends Torrence Brown and Ryan Buchholz.
In all, now that the farewell fires and summer practice smoke have cleared just eight days from Saturday’s opener vs. Appalachian State, Spencer’s entire remaining defensive line unit has just 24 career starts — 23 in the persons of Sharif Miller (12) and Kevin Givens (11). The other one? Robert Windsor at Purdue, in 2016.
No matter.
Since arriving in 2014, Spencer has spent his time at Penn State reloading rather than rebuilding. His system of rotating vets and rookies alike in and out of games along the front four has created a pattern of consistent success.
Under Coach Chaos, the Nittany Lions’ defense has posted three consecutive 40-sack seasons. Last year’s unit ranked No. 7 in the FBS for sacks, a nice bookend with the 2015 season, when they were ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Spencer is continuing the line of longtime and at-times legendary D-line coaches in Happy Valley, established under Jim O’Hora and including the likes of J.T. White, Jim Williams and Larry Johnson Sr.
Entering his fifth season at Penn State, Spencer already has six former Wild Dogs in NFL camps, including former walk-on and current Rule of 7 savant Carl Nassib, the 2015 All-American D-end who won the Lombardi and Hendricks awards and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. The others: Cothran, Cothren, Detroit’s Anthony Zettel, the L.A. Rams’ Garrett Sickels and Tennessee’s Austin Johnson.
Coach Chaos has earned his moniker honestly — and in a big way.
“As far as what Spencer brings to the table, obviously the first things everyone notices are his passion and energy,” says Ryan Snyder, the respected veteran recruiting analyst for Blue White Illustrated who has close ties with many Penn State recruits.
“However, behind the scenes, Spence is a really personable guy. He’s done an excellent job relating to the players, but he embodies what parents love to see from these coaches. That’s always evident when I talk to recruits following an in-home or in-school visit that Spencer was part of.”
A NEW TITLE
With great success comes great responsibilities. Hence, the challenges faced by Penn State’s young defensive line in 2018.
Also, though, great success can yield great rewards.
And earlier this year, Spencer was recognized for his program contributions by being promoted to associate head coach by James Franklin.
To make the move, D-coordinator Brent Pry stepped aside (read the details here) and Spencer — who, in addition to coaching the D-line coordinates the defense run game — ascended to the No. 2 role. Spencer, Pry and offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne are the only Penn State coaches who have been with Franklin since Day One at Vanderbilt in 2011.
Spencer and Rahne go back farther than that. They knew each other before either knew CJF. Rahne’s first coaching job was at Holy Cross in 2004, as assistant defensive line coach to Spencer, the defensive line coach.
“That’s where Ricky was schooled in the art of chaos,” Spencer said this week. “He was unbelievable at figuring out the quarterback keys.”
The two stayed connected, and Rahne’s path to Vandy included a stint at Kansas State with Franklin. That’s why, when Franklin — forever big on relationships — was seeking a defensive line coach when he got his first head coaching job at Vanderbilt, Rahne was able to vouch for his first college football boss.
THE ROAD TO NO. 2
Now, 14 years and a total of 11 stops coaching college football (including two at UMass) after he first got in the profession, Spencer is ready to continue the climb to one day getting a top job.
“Going forward, this is a big step for me, to go from D-line coach to run game coordinator to now associate head coach,” Spencer says. “It’s something I’m very honored to have been asked to do and I’m honored that Coach Franklin sees me as a guy who is an associate head coach.
“I’ve been with Coach Franklin since Vanderbilt. I know his system and the way we build a program and the foundation that we have. I always talk about that we don’t just have a football team — we have a foundation, we have a program. I’m going to help him and assist him in every way I can. I’m very close and tight with all of the kids on the team. I work to make relationships with all the kids beyond just my group. I like to take some of the things off of his plate — administratively or on the field.”
Spencer has paid his dues. He’s coached at 10 different schools, one more than Pry and Franklin (who also coached with the NFL Packers for a season). It wasn’t an easy climb. Although Spencer is a native of Hartford, Conn., Penn State is the third school he’s coached at in Pennsylvania, and fourth overall if you count his playing days.
After graduating from Clarion, where he was a three-year starter at safety and earned a degree in political science, Spencer began his career at Wesleyan in Connecticut, followed by a two-year stint coaching running backs at Shippensburg. That was followed by stops at Trinity, UMass, Holy Cross, Villanova, Hofstra, UMass (again) and Bowling Green, before being hired by Franklin at Vandy.
That was 2,761 days ago.
CHAOS COMES WITH THE TERRITORY
Spencer’s impact at Penn State has been pervasive — on the field, in the locker room and on the recruiting trails.
His recruiting territories in addition to his national D-line responsibilities reflect his path to Penn State: He covers Southeast PA and Baltimore, which is a nod to his Shippensburg and Villanova days and Franklin’s faith in him to cover a key part of the DMV. He’s responsible for New York City, which he knows well from being at Hofstra. And he’s the Lion king of New England, thanks to his hometown roots and his time at Massachusetts, Holy Cross, Trinity and Wesleyan.
“Spencer is a big reason for PSU’s success in New England,” says Snyder, the BWI recruiting analyst. “This year, he helped a lot with defensive backs Marquis Wilson and Tyler Randolph.
‘He also helped kickstart Penn State’s relationships with players like Pat Freiermuth and Will Levis in recent years. Of course, it’s a team effort with this staff. But Sean is a big reason why Penn State has had so much success in New England in recent years.”
BARKING ABOUT WILD DOGS
A big part of Spencer’s personality are his oft-hilarious, occasionally-hyperbolic and always high-energy descriptions of his players. Here are a few examples from earlier this week, when he met with the media after practice, as Spencer spoke on:
Daniel Joseph: “He’s just a warrior. He’s a guy I could give 10 straight reps at practice and he won’t stop. He has really long arms. He could literally reach out five yards and touch somebody.”
Jayson Oweh: “He is obviously a physical specimen, a freak, runs a sub 4.4, jumps out of the gym and looks the way you want him to look. He’s a ‘yes sir, no sir ‘guy; he’s the kind of guy you want in your room.”
Antonio Shelton: “He bench presses 450 and he can squat the entire Lasch Building. ‘
PJ Mustipher: “I liken PJ a lot to Austin Johnson. It’s as if all of a sudden Austin Johnson left, went to the Titans, then came back in the form of PJ Mustipher.”
Judge Culpepper: “His dad (Brad) played in the NFL for (nine) years, so sometimes in some of the drills, I say, ‘You’ve been doing this since you were like 5 years old, right?’”
Playing D-line: “Sometimes guys make these inside moves and they forget there’s a guard standing there who in the Big Ten will punch you in the neck. …It’s a different world inside there at defensive tackle. The conflict is all the time. It’s imminent.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Spencer hopes that Coaching Job No. 12 is as a head coach.
Not that Chaos is leaving tomorrow, but it’s a rite of December and January in Happy Valley that Franklin shares that another program is trying to hire away Spencer.
“We’ll see where the future takes me,” Spencer told me Wednesday. “I would love to be a head coach. Some day, some day, some day.”
Do you have a timetable? I asked him.
Chaos smiled and shook his head a bit: “I’d like to win a national championship here first.”
