Who will play, coach in the Pinstripe Bowl for Penn State? Here’s what Terry Smith said
Penn State is just over a week away from its matchup with Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl, and the Nittany Lions are in the process of figuring out who will play — and coach — in the game against the Tigers.
They will be without safety Zakee Wheatley, defensive tackle Zane Durant, offensive lineman Vega Ioane and running back Nick Singleton for the game after all four opted out. But there could be more players who choose to do the same.
Interim head coach Terry Smith met with the media Thursday morning to discuss his roster and his staff and what it all means for the game.
Here’s what Smith said.
On how many opt-outs the team will have
“Right now we have four guys that have opted out of the game, and that’s all that’s confirmed right now. We’re practicing with a full allotment so far. And take it day by day from there.”
On who is leading each unit
“The only real change is Jim Knowles has left. Coach [Anthony] Poindexter will run the defense and make all the calls for the defense. Coach [Andy] Kotelnicki handles the offense and Coach [Justin] Lustig handles the special teams. So there’s no change in that sense. So Coach Dex is the only real change, and he’s done it before, so we should be good.”
On if the program will announce all opt-outs
“As these players make their decisions, we will notify. Right now, it’s just the four. As it comes about, we will notify, yes.”
On who is coaching positions where coaches have departed
“Coach [Marques] Hagans is still the receivers coach. Trace [McSorley] is handling the quarterbacks. [Phil] Trautwein is still coaching the O-line and Billy [Queisert] is coaching tight ends.”
On if there’s a deadline for bowl participation decisions
“There’s no deadline. We live in a world of NIL, transfer portal, players come and go. We just cross bridges as they come. So we’ll just manage it as it is and keep progressing. And like I said, we’re going to put together the best team going forward for the bowl game, and we’re going to play hard, and we’re going out there to play as good of football as we can possibly play. And our fans will be proud of the effort we put it out there.”
On if cornerback Elliot Washington II will play
“Elliot has left the team and will be in the transfer portal.”
On his policy on playing in the bowl if a player is entering the transfer portal
“My policy is I want every kid to play to finish the season. I’m an old school football guy. The reason we’re all on this call is because Penn State plays football, and I want to hold every guy accountable that we finish the season, and then after the season, we all make the best decision for each individual, whether that’s going in the portal or not. But policy wise, I would like for every kid to finish the season with us, and then we make decisions once the season concludes.”
On if any players will be on a snap count
“Each kid is a case by case basis. The challenge is, you want to play your veteran guys. You want to give them the snaps they need, but you do not want to put them in jeopardy. You want to see your young guys participate, and ultimately, we want to win the football game. So we’re going to call the game to win the game, and we’re going to play the guys that’s necessary in the roles that is necessary to win the game. But it’s a hard balance of doing right by those guys and doing right by the team, so I have to manage that, and like I said, we’ll be ready to play next Saturday.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM.
