Brent Pry

Brent Pry (born April 1, 1970), is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He played college football for the Buffalo Bulls.

Brent Pry
Current position
TitleDefensive coordinator, linebackers coach
TeamPenn State
ConferenceBig Ten
Biographical details
Born (1970-04-01) April 1, 1970
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Playing career
1988Maryville College
1989–1991Buffalo
Position(s)Safety
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1992Buffalo (student coach)
1993–1994East Stroudsburg (OLB/DB)
1995–1997Virginia Tech (GA)
1998–1999Western Carolina (DL)
2000–2001Western Carolina (DB/ST)
2002–2006Louisiana–Lafayette (AHC/DC/LB)
2007–2009Memphis (DL)
2010Georgia Southern (DC/S)
2011–2013Vanderbilt (AHC/co-DC/LB)
2014–2015Penn State (AHC/co-DC/LB)
2016–presentPenn State (DC/LB)

Early life

Brent was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the son of Altoona High graduates Jim and Kathy Pry. His father played college football at Marshall and is a long-time college coach.[1] Brent a 1988 graduate of Lexington High in Lexington, Va., was an all-region quarterback and defensive back.[2]

College playing career

Brent started his college career as a free safety at Division III, Maryville College in 1988, he later transferred to the Division III, University of Buffalo where he lettered in 1990. Suffering a career-ending injury in 1991, he returned as a student coach for the 1992 season.[3]

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Brent began his coaching career in 1993 as the outside linebacker and defensive backs coach for the NCAA Division II, East Stroudsburg Warriors. Pry spent two seasons with the Warriors where his father Jim, served as the offensive coordinator and mentored future Penn State head coach and All-PSAC quarterback James Franklin.[4] From 1995 to 1997 Pry served as a graduate assistant with Virginia Tech under defensive coordinator Bud Foster, where he helped the Hokies to three bowl games, including a win in the 1995 Sugar Bowl.[3] Pry spent his next four seasons at FCS Western Carolina University. He coached the defensive line in 1998 and 1999, and defensive backs and special teams in 2000 and 2001. He also served as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) liaison.[2] Serving as the defensive coordinator at Louisiana-Lafayette from 2002 to 2006, helping the Ragin' Cajuns to their first Sun Belt Conference championship in 2005.[5] As the defensive line coach for the Memphis Tigers from 2007 to 2009, Pry helped the Tigers to back-to-back bowl appearances and molded a defensive line in 2008 into one of the Conference USA's best.[3]

Georgia Southern

While serving as defensive coordinator at Georgia Southern in 2010, the Eagles finished ninth in total defense (286.93), 11th in scoring defense (18.47) and 11th in passing defense (159.93). His defensive unit helped the Eagles to a 10-5 overall record, that included a win over No. 1 Appalachian State and an appearance in the NCAA FCS semifinals.[6] It also included a 31–15 victory over William & Mary in the second round of playoffs, that pitted Pry against future coaching mates Bob Shoop (DC) and David Corley Jr.(QBs).[7]

Vanderbilt

Pry tutored the Vanderbilt linebackers and was co-defensive coordinator from 2011–13. The linebackers led the team in tackles-for-loss during each of Pry's three seasons for the Commodores and he helped Chris Marve earn All-SEC accolades in 2011.[8]

Penn State

As co-defensive coordinator for Penn State, Pry helped direct a unit that had back-to-back Top 15 finishes in total defense.[8] For his efforts, Pry was a finalist for 2014 Football Scoop's Linebackers Coach of the Year.[9] He helped Mike Hull earn the Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Award, given to the conference's best linebacker and eight All-America honors in 2014. Hull led the Big Ten with 140 tackles, which also ranked 7th in the country and tied for fourth-most for a Nittany Lion in a single season.[8][10]

After the departure of defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, Pry was promoted to associate head coach and defensive coordinator on January 10, 2016.[4] In his first season as defensive coordinator, Pry guiding a defense that finished 37th in FBS total defense (367.9), and helped the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Championship despite a significant number of injuries to the linebacking corps.[11]

In 2017, the defense finished the regular season seventh in the nation and second in the Big Ten in scoring defense, averaging 15.5 points per game. Pry's defense also finished with a pair of shutout victories and only allowed more than 20 points in a game just three times. Seven times he saw his defense hold opponents scoreless in at least one half the game (Akron, Georgia State, Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan, Rutgers, Maryland).[12] Penn State finished with an 11–2 record capped off by a Fiesta Bowl victory over the Washington Huskies.[13] Three players were selected from the defense in the 2018 NFL Draft, safety Troy Apke in the fourth round (109th overall), safety Marcus Allen in the fifth round (148th overall) and cornerback Christian Campbell was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round (182nd overall).[14][15][16]

In 2018, Pry's defense lead the country in sacks per game with 3.62 and finished fourth in tackles for loss with 8.2.[17][18] The Penn State secondary had one of its best seasons since 2014, finishing the season with 13 interceptions and allowing a 53.6 completion rate.[19] The Nittany Lions also held three opponents to 60 or less yards through the air, this was the first time PSU had accomplished this feat since the 1976 season.[20] Cornerback Amani Oruwariye and defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos made the All-Big Ten first team. Six additional players, from the defense, received all-conference recognition.[21][22] Defensive end Shareef Miller, cornerback Amani Oruwariye and safety Nick Scott were selected in the 2019 NFL Draft.[23][24][25]

Personal
  • Date of Birth: April 1, 1970
  • Hometown: Altoona, Pa.
  • Alma Mater: University of Buffalo 1993
  • Education: Bachelor's, History 1993
  • Family: wife, Amy; son, Colby, daughters, Madeline and Catherine[26]

References
  1. "Altoona ‘Pry’de: New PSU LBs coach has deep local roots", Altoona Mirror, January 26, 2014, retrieved February 12, 2018.
  2. Western Carolina Profile Archived 2018-02-16 at the Wayback Machine, catamountsports.com, retrieved February 12, 2018.
  3. Vanderbilt Profile, vucommodores.com, retrieved February 12, 2018.
  4. "Penn State Football: Brent Pry Promoted To Defensive Coordinator", Altoona.com, retrieved February 13, 2018.
  5. "Franklin Announces Penn State Coaching Staff", gopsusports.com, January 24, 2014, retrieved February 14, 2018.
  6. "Franklin announces defensive hires ", vucommodores, January 31, 2011, retrieved February 14, 2018.
  7. Boettcher, Jerome."Former foes come together to coordinate Vanderbilt's defense" Archived 2018-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, nashvillecitypaper.com, January 31, 2011, retrieved February 14, 2018.
  8. "Penn State Promotes Pry to Defensive Coordinator", gopsusports.com, January 10, 2016, retrieved February 14, 2018.
  9. Barnett, Zach."2014 Linebackers Coach of the Year – Finalists", footballscoop.com, December 11, 2014, retrieved February 14, 2018.
  10. Jones, Ben.Penn State Football: Awards Continue To Pile Up For Nittany Lions, StateCollege.com, December 19, 2014, retrieved February 15, 2018.
  11. 2016 Rose Bowl Game notes, gopsusports.com, retrieved February 15, 2018.
  12. 2017 Fiesta Bowl Game notes, gopsusports.com, retrieved February 15, 2018.
  13. Jude, Adam."Penn State runs over Washington in the Fiesta Bowl to put a disappointing end on Huskies’ season", The Seattle Times, December 30, 2017, retrieved February 15, 2018.
  14. Czarda, Stephen (April 28, 2018). "Redskins Select Safety Troy Apke". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  15. "2018 NFL Draft Results: Pittsburgh Steelers select safety Marcus Allen with fifth round pick". Behind The Steel Curtain. April 28, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  16. Odegard, Kyle (April 28, 2018). "Cardinals Add CB Chris Campbell In Sixth Round". AZCardinals.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  17. Wogenrich, Mark."State of Penn State: Despite losses, defensive line could be among Big Ten's best", The Morning Call, February 13, 2019, retrieved April 6, 2019.
  18. "Penn State Tackles for loss", cfbstats.com, retrieved April 6, 2019.
  19. Wogenrich, Mark (February 15, 2019). "State of Penn State: Secondary 'in a much better position than 5 years ago'". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on January 19, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  20. "Citrus Bowl Game Notes". gopsusports.com. 2018 Penn State Nittany Lions. December 14, 2018. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  21. Gross, Mike."Penn State's Oruwariye, Gross-Matos are first -team all-Big Ten", LNP, November 28, 2018, retrieved April 6, 2019.
  22. "2018 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards" (PDF).
  23. McPherson, Chris (April 27, 2019). "Eagles select DE Shareef Miller in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
  24. Birkett, Dave (April 27, 2019). "Detroit Lions take Amani Oruwariye in Round 5 of 2019 NFL draft". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  25. "2019 NFL Draft Results: Los Angeles Rams select Penn State Nittany Lions S Nick Scott". Turf Show Times. April 27, 2019.
  26. Penn State Profile, gopsusports.com, retrieved February 15, 2018.
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