Conference Big Ten Conference 2013 record 7–5 (4–4 Big Ten) Offensive scheme Pro Style | Division Leaders Division Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien | |
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Head coach Bill O'Brien (2nd year) | ||
The 2013 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bill O'Brien and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were a member of the Big Ten Conference and its Leaders Division. Penn State was ineligible to play in a bowl game for the 2013 season, the second season of a four-year ban, due to NCAA sanctions imposed in the wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.
Contents
- Coaching staff
- Recruiting
- Preseason buildup
- Passing
- Rushing
- Receiving
- Kicking
- Punting
- Defense
- Awards
- Post season
- Departure of Bill OBrien
- Draft prospects
- References
Before the season, Penn State had an open competition to win the starting quarterback position; true freshman Christian Hackenberg won and started all 12 games for the Nittany Lions. Hackenberg headlined their recruiting class, which also featured tight end Adam Breneman. John Butler was named Penn State's new defensive coordinator upon the departure of Ted Roof. Most predicted Penn State would have a similar season to that of the 2012 team, which won eight games and lost four, but there was uncertainty, as injuries could decimate the team, which was already thin at many positions including offensive line and linebacker, while surprise performances from key players could lift them to success.
Penn State opened the season with two non-conference wins, but lost to the UCF Knights, who ultimately went on to a BCS bowl, the Fiesta, in their third game. Entering conference play, the Nittany Lions were 3–1, and in their first conference game they lost to Indiana before defeating Michigan in a quadruple-overtime thriller. They alternated losses and wins for the remainder of the season, losing to Ohio State, Minnesota, and Nebraska, and defeating Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin.
Despite the team never being ranked, several players earned national and conference recognition, headlined by wide receiver Allen Robinson, who was named the Big Ten Conference Receiver of the Year and earned first team all-conference and All-American honors before subsequently announcing he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft. Senior John Urschel, an offensive guard, won the William V. Campbell Trophy—sometimes referred to as the "academic Heisman". Hackenberg was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Additionally, backup quarterback Tyler Ferguson, who lost the preseason quarterback competition to Hackenberg, announced his intent to transfer. Soon after the season, two coaches—Ron Vanderlinden and Charlie Fisher—left Penn State for undisclosed reasons, though there was speculation that O'Brien forced them out. A few weeks later, O'Brien accepted the head coaching position with the Houston Texans, leaving the Nittany Lions after two seasons. Early in 2014, the Nittany Lions hired James Franklin to replace O'Brien as head coach for the 2014 season.
Coaching staff
Recruiting
Despite NCAA sanctions including limited scholarships and a bowl ban, Penn State retained their top recruit: quarterback Christian Hackenberg. They finished with the 24th ranked recruiting class according to ESPN, who cited retention of top prospects Hackenberg and tight end Adam Breneman, as well as adding depth in the secondary, overall giving them a "B" rating. Linebacker recruit Zayd Issah never enrolled at Penn State after several instances of legal trouble. Entering camp, Hackenberg and Ferguson vied for the starting quarterback position; ultimately, Hackenberg won the job, and Ferguson served as the backup.
Preseason buildup
Coming off an 8–4 season during which, according to USA Today's Paul Myerberg, "Attrition robbed Penn State of everything but the kitchen sink, or so we heard, so it was quite surprising when the sink, a few walk-ons, a mathematician, a local kid and a rookie coach went 8-2 after a sluggish start, pushing back against storm clouds and bringing PSU back from the abyss of life post-NCAA sanctions." Many college football analysts expected the Nittany Lions to perform similarly in 2013, although almost all season outlooks noted that the team could take a major step back from 2012 if they were hampered by injuries, or could surprise everyone and win more games than they did in 2012.
A solid backfield anchored by Zach Zwinak, a trio of established tight ends plus a promising newcomer, and a veteran offensive line highlighted the projected success offensively, while a new coordinator (John Butler), a "borderline All-American" linebacker (Glenn Carson), and lots of potential both on the defensive line and in the secondary, the latter of which was "dramatically improved", highlighted projected progress defensively. Also, a quarterback competition between Christian Hackenberg and Tyler Ferguson brewed, which provided intrigue entering the season. For Penn State to achieve success, they needed to avoid injuries that would hinder their already depleted depth due to NCAA sanctions. SBNation.com asserted, "If either Hackenberg or Ferguson gets hurt, and the other one stinks ... if either Zach Zwinak or Bill Belton (who missed four games last year) gets hurt ... if basically any linemen get hurt (and linemen often get hurt) ... this house of cards comes tumbling down." ESPN.com reporter Josh Moyer wrote, "In short, like last year, PSU is a bit of a wild card. If it receives strong efforts from its quarterback and the front seven, it should surpass last year's record. If it doesn't, it might be fortunate to get to seven wins."
Passing
Reference: Penn State Cumulative Season Statistics. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
Rushing
Reference: Penn State Cumulative Season Statistics. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
Receiving
Reference: Penn State Cumulative Season Statistics. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
Kicking
Reference: Penn State Nittany Lions 2013 Statistics - Team and Player Stats - ESPN. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
Punting
Reference: Penn State Cumulative Season Statistics. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
Defense
Reference: Penn State Cumulative Season Statistics. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
Awards
Post-season
Less than a week after the season's conclusion, backup quarterback Tyler Ferguson announced his plans to transfer from the university to somewhere he would have an opportunity to start, rather than be Christian Hackenberg's backup for the remainder of his career. Later, it was announced that though he originally intended to transfer to Western Kentucky (WKU), at which Bobby Petrino was head coach; when Petrino accepted the head coaching position at Louisville, Ferguson changed his plans, and transferred there. In early December, it was reported that quarterbacks coach Charlie Fisher and linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden, the latter of whom was a holdover from the Joe Paterno era, departed, with speculation that they were forced out by Bill O'Brien.
Departure of Bill O'Brien
Several weeks after the departure of those assistants, reports began to surface that O'Brien had interviewed for the Houston Texans' head coaching position to replace Gary Kubiak, who was fired late in the season. Subsequently, the two sides were reported to be negotiating a contract, and on January 3, 2014, the Texans held a press conference announcing O'Brien as their new head coach. Assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Stan Hixon, safeties coach Anthony Midget, defensive coordinator John Butler, running backs coach Charles London, and strength coach Craig Fitzgerald submitted resignations on January 6, and most were expected to follow O'Brien to the NFL, leaving only offensive line coach Mac McWhorter, who was 63 years old and came out of retirement to coach at Penn State, defensive line coach Larry Johnson, a long-time member of the staff, and tight ends coach John Strollo, as assistant coaches on the staff, and thus making Penn State more attractive of a coaching position to a new coach, as he could bring in his own staff.
Early candidates for the job included former Rutgers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano, Penn State alumni Al Golden, who was the coach of the Miami and Mike Munchak, who was the coach of the Tennessee Titans prior to his dismissal, and Pennsylvania native James Franklin, Vanderbilt's head coach, as well as Larry Johnson, Penn State's defensive line coach. In the ensuing days, ESPN reported that the search committee, led by athletic director David Joyner, targeted Munchak, Franklin, and Golden as its top three candidates, but that Johnson remained in the mix. On Sunday, January 5, 2014, Golden took himself out of contention for the position, while Munchak appeared to be an emerging strong candidate. Over the next few days, however, Franklin emerged as the top candidate, and on January 11, he was officially named and introduced as Penn State's head coach. Upon his hiring, questions began to surface about whether he would retain Johnson or bring back Vanderlinden, the latter of whom was Maryland's head coach when Franklin was on its staff in 2000, to the staff; unlike when O'Brien was hired and announced that he would retain the pair at his introductory press conference, Franklin simply noted that he would meet with the pair, but commented that he is "fiercely loyal" to his assistants from Vanderbilt, and intended to bring many with him to Penn State. Ultimately, neither Johnson nor Vanderlinden were on Franklin's staff for the 2014 season, with the former accepting a position with rival Ohio State.
Intermittently, Penn State named Johnson, the lone remaining holdover from the Joe Paterno era, the interim head coach in an effort to stabilize the program to prevent recruit defection, as well as prevent current players, namely quarterback Hackenberg, whose father commented that he was undecided on whether or not to return, from transferring. A few weeks later, however, it appeared Hackenberg would return, as Ferguson followed through on his plans to transfer, and Franklin lauded Hackenberg in his introductory press conference. After the announcement of O'Brien's departure, star wide receiver Allen Robinson, a junior, declared that he would forgo his senior season, and enter the 2014 NFL Draft; according to projections from a CBSSports.com mock draft, Robinson would likely be selected in the late first round.
Draft prospects
Three players were invited to the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine, held February 22–25, 2014, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana: DaQuan Jones, Allen Robinson, and John Urschel.