ALTOONA, Pa. -- We know Manny Diaz wants to play an aggressive style of defense that forces a lot of turnovers. We also know Diaz implemented the famous "Turnover Chain" when he was at Miami, which became a big thing in college football for a while.
So, will Penn State's new defensive coordinator come up with a turnover chain -- or something similar -- as a way to hype up the defense?
A chain would seem unlikely, since no school wants to act like it's just copying another. But one would think Diaz and the Nittany Lion defenders might come up with something that will serve as a reward after turnovers.
Here's what safety Keaton Ellis had to say recently about the possibility of a turnover chain or something similar:
"We haven't set one in stone yet, but it's a group celebration when we get an interception. It's not for just the defense, it's for the offense, as well as for the team. Obviously, when someone gets an interception, it's a game changer."
Have there been any suggestions so far about a turnover chain type of thing?
"Well, we'll probably come up with something, but there's no suggestions," Ellis said.
Penn State, of course, had the Lawn Boyz chain for the running backs a few years back, but that never really caught on. It was deemed silly by a lot of Lion fans, perhaps because it clearly was a copycat effort.
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Journey Brown wears the Lawn Boyz chain during the 2019 season.
No matter what is decided about any turnover reward type of thing, Penn State's focus on defense under Diaz is sure to be more takeaways. The Lions have struggled at times during James Franklin's tenure getting takeaways, and in Diaz's philosophy, a focus on playing more aggressively and taking more chances could be the ticket to creating turnovers.
The defense's motto during the spring was "let's get it," and that figures to carry over to the season, as well.
What does "let's get it" mean?
"Let's go after the guy," safety Ji'Ayir Brown, who tied for the national lead with six interceptions last year, said during the spring. "Let's be on offense even though we're on defense. We're trying to attack guys, not have people attack us."
The main element of the aggressive defense starts with getting more pressure on the quarterback. If the Lions can do that, they feel confident they'll be in position to create more turnovers in Diaz's defense.
"For us, (the) defensive line, they're just as much in the pass defense as we are (in the secondary)," Ellis said. "The more pressure they get, the more opportunities that we get. So, we're really excited about the style of play, and I think it will make getting big plays a lot easier because all the pressure that is thrown at them.
"If you get that pressure on the quarterback, they can really get flustered and make poor decisions."
Diaz first came up with the turnover chain when he was defensive coordinator at Miami in 2017. It had a good run with the Hurricanes and made national news, but the chain's future was always going to be in peril once Diaz was fired by Miami following last season.
The Hurricanes' new coach, Mario Cristobal, made the announcement less than two weeks ago that the turnover chain is "not part of our culture."
Whether something like it will be part of Penn State's culture remains to be seen.
Here's a look back at Diaz's press conference when he was hired in December, and what he liked about coming to Penn State.
CAMP UPDATE
Penn State opened preseason camp Monday, but there were no media interviews allowed. The Lions will hold media day Saturday, so we'll get to hear from James Franklin, the assistant coaches and players then.
