Penn State was already set to be without true freshman superstar edge rusher Chaz Coleman in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium against Clemson on Saturday, and on Tuesday, the Nittany Lions got more bad news as Lions247 learned that sixth-year senior edge rusher Zuriah Fisher is no longer with the team.
Fisher will seek a waiver for an additional year of eligibility after dealing with injuries throughout his time in Happy Valley. The Aliquippa product was a 2020 four-star recruit, but because of two ACL injuries, Fisher did not work his way into the full-time starting lineup until 2025, playing opposite senior defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton.
Penn State will be without another defensive starter in the Pinstripe Bowl, @Lions247 has learned.
— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) December 23, 2025
Sixth-year senior edge rusher Zuriah Fisher is no longer with the Nittany Lions. He ranked second among PSU edge rushers in snaps and pressures this fall 👇https://t.co/vzqQhN65j0
6th-year Penn State veteran Zuriah Fisher no longer with the program, seeking 7th year
Fisher played the second-most snaps and recorded the second-most pressures of Penn State edge rushers this season, in a rotation that included Dennis-Sutton, Coleman, and true freshman Yvan Kemajou. The 6-foot-3, 259-pound veteran registered a career-high 30 QB pressures and racked up 19 tackles and two sacks across 438 defensive snaps.
Kemajou and redshirt freshman Jaylen Harvey are expected to see an uptick in snaps on Saturday against the Tigers in a thin defensive end room. Dennis-Sutton is currently expected to play his final game as a Nittany Lion before leaving for the NFL, but interior defensive lineman Zuriah Fisher has opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Terry Smith, who served as the program’s interim head coach for the final six games of the regular season after James Franklin was fired, and who also went to Aliquippa, the Western PA high school football powerhouse, will have a tough task setting the defensive line depth chart in his final game as head coach before he returns to an assistant role under new head coach Matt Campbell.
Campbell and general manager Derek Hoodjer, who came over from Iowa State, will have a difficult task rebuilding the defensive end group at Penn State, but before they can make any additions in the January 2-16 Transfer Portal Window, Campbell will first need to hire a defensive coordinator.
Last year’s DC, Jim Knowles, left for Tennessee, replacing former Penn State co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks on the Volunteers’ staff. The assumption was that Campbell’s longtime DC Jon Heacock would join him in Happy Valley, but Heacock announced his retirement on Tuesday.
USC’s D’Anton Lynn is rumored to be Penn State’s top DC target to replace Knowles.