A segment of Penn State fans and alumni want Terry Smith to be the next full-time head coach.
This was apparent after last Saturday night’s commanding 37-10 win over Nebraska at Beaver Stadium, and another example of it was showcased Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Ahead of Penn State’s season finale against Rutgers, multiple beat reporters captured a “hire Terry Smith” banner attached to a plane flying above Rutgers’ stadium.
The most eye-opening endorsement of Smith so far took place after the Nebraska win, with multiple players holding signs that said “hire Terry Smith.” This scene was preceded by the Beaver Stadium faithful chanting “Ter-ry! There-ry!” multiple times.
Exclusive: Meet The Penn State Fan Who Created The ‘Hire Terry Smith’ Signs
Smith later stated his own case for the job in his postgame press conference, and was asked again about it two days later.
“No one knows Penn State better than me of all the candidates that are out there,” Smith said. “I know the history of Penn State. I know the culture, the DNA. I know the locker room. I know administration. I think I’m a good leader. I think I’m a leader of men.”
But Smith knows that, right now, the most important thing for this Penn State team to focus on is beating Rutgers.
“That will take care of itself when the time comes,” Smith said. “My focus right now is obviously, we have to beat Rutgers. “We approached these last couple of weeks as do-or-die, playoff-type games, and this is another playoff game for us in our own reality of our world.”































