When Terry Smith Returned to Penn State, So Did His Cornerbacks

Smith resumes his role as the Nittany Lions' cornerbacks coach, leading a talented group of players.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Terry Smith celebrates from the sideline during the third quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Most of Penn State’s defense is new, but Terry Smith largely kept his room together. Under head coach Matt Campbell, Smith is back as the program’s associate head coach and cornerbacks coach. 

“I think Terry’s excellence in terms of keeping that corner room together, I think you guys know how special that corner room has the ability to be,” Campbell said. “Those guys are young, those guys are talented.”

After Penn State won the Pinstripe Bowl, Smith and the incoming coaching staff were tasked with trying to retain as many players as possible. Campbell and his staff retained 52 players from Penn State’s 2025 roster, including four key cornerbacks in Smith’s room: Audavion Collins, Daryus Dixson, Zion Tracy and Jahmir Joseph.  

“If we got gutted from the Penn State side of it, it’s just hard to start from square one, and we were able to keep a core group of guys so that we didn’t have to start at square one,” Smith said of the roster-retention plan. “And then the blended family that came from Iowa State, I think it’s a perfect match.

“There’s enough of those guys, to be honest, it’s almost like Curt Cignetti when he brought the [James Madison] guys to Indiana. We brought a great group of guys with us from Iowa State that’s blended with our current Penn State guys.”

For Smith, life has become more “normal” now that he’s no longer sitting in the head coaching seat. Smith, who went 4-3 as Penn State’s interim head coach, said he doesn’t miss the pressure, doesn’t miss the media and loves being back with the cornerbacks. 

“They shared a statement with me. They said ‘Coach T, the world got to see what we see every day,’” Smith said. “I am who I am. I coach my guys really, really hard and I coach them with fairness and love and family, faith. … I don’t have as big a role, and I can be even greater in my smaller one.”

RELATED: How defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn found his way back to Penn State

The veterans of the group

Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Zion Tracy (7) pursues Rutgers Scarley Knights quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Collins and Tracy are expected to be strong leaders in the cornerback room, which returned the highest percentage of players on the team. Smith said Penn State lacked a “true leader” in recent years, saying the closest was Tariq Castro-Fields, who made 30 starts at cornerback from 2017-2021.

“We've had some good guys, but no one that just, ‘Hey, this is my room,’” Smith said. “And so I think Audavion, and really Zion, you know two veteran guys that have played a lot of football and have high expectations, I think those two are ready. Through the offseason, they've been more vocal through our group chat, so I think they're ready to take that next step.”

Collins led the cornerbacks in tackles last season with 47 (33 solo), including 2.5 for losses. He came to Penn State in 2023 after redshirting at Mississippi State in 2022. 

Tracy (five tackles for loss) notably had a forced fumble against Michigan State in the fourth quarter that helped seal Penn State’s first Big Ten win of the season in November. 

RELATED: Five questions for Penn State coach Matt Campbell

The young Nittany Lions who stayed

Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Daryus Dixson (5) breaks up a pass intended for Clemson Tigers wide receiver Tristan Smith (3) during the first half of the 2025 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It wasn’t just established leaders who stayed at Penn State. Some key younger talent also opted not to transfer. 

“I give Terry a lot of credit,” Campbell said. “To have the success, to have some momentum leaving the football season was really positive, and some of those guys, you saw how they played in the bowl game. A lot of those guys are the guys that demanded and decided that they wanted to come back and lead forward.”

Dixson appeared in eight games last season, leading the defense with six passes defended. He broke up three passes in the Pinstripe Bowl and also forced two fumbles during the season, recovering one. Smith said Dixson was a key player to return. 

“He was a priority, so we had conversations every week,” Smith said. “From the time I took over, we knew he was going to be a guy that you have to keep in the program.”

Joseph, who played in five games, will have four years of eligibility remaining. He had the team’s longest interception return, going 49 yards for a touchdown against Villanova. 

“Jahmir is super-talented. He’s got it all, he can do it all,” Smith said. “When you watch those guys play in the bowl game, we had three elite corners playing, and I was proud to watch those guys play.”

Smith added that Joseph will have a bigger role moving forward. Retaining Dixson was a huge advantage for Penn State because of his production in a defensive system that wasn’t always the easiest for the younger players to learn. 

“He studies the game, he masters his opponent, he’s a technician,” Smith said. “He works hard in the eight room and he works hard at his craft, so that next step is just becoming a consistent starter, anchoring down his side or the ball or eliminating whoever’s in front of him.”

The new guy in the room

Syracuse Orange defensive back Ibn McDaniels (24) goes for the tackle against the Washington State Cougars. | Abe Arredondo-Imagn Images

Penn State retained two other freshmen cornerbacks in Xxavier Thomas and Joshua Johnson while adding multiple newcomers. Among them is Ibn McDaniels, a redshirt freshman from Syracuse who transferred to Penn State over Kentucky, UConn and Temple. He played in 11 games for the Orange, and his size (6-3, 205) is impressive. 

“I’m starting to get all these bigger corners now, he’s like gigantic,” Smith said. “I think he weighed in at 204 pounds the other day. He’s big, he’s fast, he’s athletic, he’s talented, he’s super smart. He brings toughness to the room, which is demanded in the room.”

McDaniels enters a room where he can learn from Collins and Tracy and work well playing alongside Dixson and Joseph.

“I think he’s got a chance to contribute,” Smith said. “But time will tell on that, and we’ll see how it goes.”

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