Penn State's Terry Smith Addresses Potential for Further Player Departures

Smith is preparing for his first home game as the Nittany Lions' interim head coach.

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith on the sideline during the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State interim coach Terry Smith met the media after practice Wednesday, as the Nittany Lions prepare to host second-ranked Indiana at Beaver Stadium. Smith covered several topics, including practice energy, a player departure and his first home game as the head coach.

Here's a recap of Smith's media session.

Will Penn State see further player departures?

Joey Schlaffer, a redshirt sophomore tight end, became the first player to leave the team since James Franklin's firing. Schlaffer caught one pass, for a 19-yard touchdown against Villanova, this season and did not play in any of the five Big Ten games.

Smith said that Schlaffer "made a decision to leave" but that he does not expect further departures.

"I don’t anticipate anyone else leaving," Smith said. "The morale’s been really good. At the end of the day, we’re going to play with who is here. Our roster is still here. These guys are excited to play a great Indiana team this weekend and they’re preparing to go play hard Saturday."

RELATED: Who Penn State's should prioritize in retaining from this roster

Assessing the energy level at practice

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith enters Kinnick Stadium before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Several reporters attending practice Wednesday suggested that the players were subdued. Tyler Donohue, who covers Penn State for 247Sports, asked Smith for his perspective of the team's energy level.

In speaking with a few other experienced Penn State beat reporters, our consensus this evening coming off the field is that was the lowest-energy viewing window we've seen in a long time.

The Nittany Lions have four more Big Ten games ahead of them, starting with No. 2 Indiana.

— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) November 5, 2025

"This was one of our better practices," Smith told reporters at Holuba Hall. "And we had a good-on-good [period] right before you guys came out, and then we had individual periods [that the media attended]. In individual [periods], it’s a lot of teaching, and so it’s slower pace.

"Yesterday was a great practice, today was a great practice. This guys are working hard, I’m super proud of the effort and I thought today’s energy was fantastic."

Quarterback depth remains thin

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (97) pursues Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (17) during the ame at Ohio Stadium. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ethan Grunkemeyer, who has started the past two games, was the only scholarship quarterback available for Wednesday's practice. Smith said that backup Jaxon Smolik, who was injured at Iowa, remains "week-to-week" and freshman Bekkem Kritza was out sick.

As a result, receiver Liam Clifford is getting more quarterback snaps. Clifford took two Wildcat reps and threw an incomplete pass on a receiver option against Ohio State.

"He might be some secret sauce, or something like that," Smith said.

RELATED: Indiana's Curt Cignetti points to a ranking that still includes Penn State

Smith continues learning on the job

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith looks on against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Saturday's game vs. Indiana marks Smith's first leading the Nittany Lions onto the field at Beaver Stadium. The night before also will be his first staying at the team hotel, something he wasn't required to do as an assistant. So he's still learning on the job in Game 3.

"This whole thing is really surreal to me," Smith said. "I’m humbled by it, I’m looking forward to it, I’m looking forward to having our home crowd behind us. We’ve been in two hostile environments, and [I'm looking forward to] welcoming a great home crowd."

As an assistant, Smith received four tickets to home games. He gets more now as the interim head coach. That's just one of the many changes he has had to learn about in the new job.

"It’s just a different lifestyle now," Smith said. "I love it, I embrace it, I want it. I’m in charge of everything. I’m in charge of the meals. I’m in charge of the timing of practice and how practice functions and what periods we do what [drills]. And the uniform code, whether coaches wear this or that.

"It's a huge program, and there's a lot of little things that no one even thnks about, and now they're on my plate. I wouldn’t have it any other way."

Penn State hosts second-ranked Indiana on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX's Big Noon broadcast.

Watch Smith's full availability here, courtesy of Blue-White Illustrated.