Terry Smith breaks silence, explains why he stays at Penn State originally appeared on The Sporting News Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
Terry Smith knows he doesn’t have to stay. He also knew exactly why he did it.
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“Yeah, my love for college,” Smith said during a Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl press conference. “I’ve said this time and time again. I love this university.”
For seven tumultuous weeks, the former Penn State receiver sat in the big chair trying to salvage a season that was spiraling out of control. He didn’t sugarcoat anything.
“For me personally, this has been the greatest seven weeks of my coaching career,” Smith said. “To have the opportunity to represent my alma mater, be at the top of my alma mater and try to salvage a season that didn’t start the way we wanted. It’s a huge opportunity for me.”
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When coaching became more rigorous, players publicly supported him. The locker room wants him. Smith heard it. But he also knows what fits with who he is and who Penn State should be.
“I’ve known Matt Campbell for probably over 15 years when I was the high school head coach at Gateway High School,” Smith said. “At this point in my career, I really can only work for certain types of people, and we’re aligned in the fact that he’s blue-collar and he creates the toughness, the discipline, the core values that Penn State stands for.
“I felt like he was the right leader at the time and I wanted to stay in it.”
He doesn’t pretend the decision was easy. He doesn’t pretend it’s all effortless. What matters is honesty.
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“I didn’t know who it was going to be until I made the choice,” Smith said. “But it was completely transparent. I feel very, very good about the choice. I feel very, very good about my attitude on this. This is how I can stay at Penn State and move forward.”
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As the future begins to take shape, Smith still has a game to coach and a locker room to stabilize.
“The message I just sent to our players is we want to put the most important thing first, and that’s playing ball.”
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He returned to the analogy of leading this team through chaos.
“You get a pencil. It’s dull. You go into the sharpener. You have to give something of yourself to produce results. Daily practice, daily sacrifice, daily dedication, is what makes a team.”
Now, he’ll stay to see what that sharp version will look like once the Gasparilla Bowl is complete.