Anthony Poindexter Staying with Penn State Football, report says

Penn State Football co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter is remaining with the program, after being in the mix for the University of Virginia head coaching position

Penn State football safeties coach Anthony Poindexter is staying with the program and will not be the next head coach at Virginia, according to a tweet by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg on Wednesday afternoon.

Poindexter, who played at Virginia from 1995 to 1998, was the leading candidate for the head coaching vacancy there after Bronco Mendenhall resigned last week. He was a consensus All-American and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the Cavilers back in 1998.

Poindexter is in his first season as the safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator in Happy Valley. In just that one year, Poindexter has had a huge impact on the safety room with Jaquan Brisker becoming a first-team All-American and Ji’Ayir Brown being named to All-Big Ten third team. Youngsters like junior Keaton Ellis and freshman Jaylen Reed also showed signs of improvement this season.

Recruiting has also taken a step forward, with the Nittany Lions expected to sign three 4-star safeties next week in Mehki Flowers, Cristian Driver and Kevin Winston. The No. 1 JUCO safety in the 2022 class, Tyreece Mills, is also a Penn State commit.

Keeping Poindexter away from his alma mater is a massive win for James Franklin. With the unknowns at defensive coordinator with Brent Pry gone, Franklin needs to keep his defensive staff intact as much as possible for stability; it’s also one less coaching search Franklin must go on.  Being able to hold onto a coach as respected and talented as Poindexter is a big deal.

This has been a wild week for Poindexter, as he was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.