Head coach Joe Paterno and his staff will again welcome several hundred coaches for Penn State's Annual Football Coaches Clinic, set for April 11-12 on the University Park campus.
The clinic will feature lectures and demonstrations by Paterno and the entire Nittany Lions' staff, who have guided Penn State to 31 wins in its last 40 games, including victories in the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl, the 2007 Outback Bowl and the 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl.
The Nittany Lions' 31 wins over the last 40 games are tied for No. 8 in the nation. Penn State's annual spring gathering traditionally draws more than 800 high school and youth league coaches from all parts of the country and beyond the United States border.
The 2008 spring clinic will feature sessions with the Nittany Lions' offensive and defensive coaching staffs and provide on-field demonstrations with members of the Nittany Lions' squad, which will be in the midst of spring drills. Clinic attendees will have an opportunity to observe a practice on Friday, April 11 and an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday, April 12 in Beaver Stadium.
Pat Flaherty, offensive line coach for the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, will be the guest speaker at the clinic. A native of McSherrystown, Pa., Flaherty was a member of the Nittany Lions' coaching staff in 1982 and '83, serving as a part-time assistant coaching the offensive line under Dick Anderson. He helped Penn State win the 1982 National Championship with a Sugar Bowl victory over No. 1 Georgia. When Anderson was named head coach at Rutgers for the 1984 season, Flaherty joined the Scarlet Knights' staff. Flaherty was at Rutgers through the 1991 season and coached in the college ranks until joining the Washington Redskins' staff in 2000. Flaherty was tight ends coach with the Chicago Bears (2001-03) before joining the Giants' staff in 2004 as offensive line coach.
In addition, the clinic will include a presentation by Penn State's strength and conditioning staff. A special session on speed and movement with the Nittany Lions' speed coach also will be offered as part of the program agenda.
The clinic costs $60 per person and includes clinic materials, Friday's dinner and a coaches' Friday night social in Beaver Stadium.
Pre-registration for the clinic ends March 31. Penn State also will host five different camp opportunities on the University Park campus in June during its 34th annual summer football camps. Close to 3,000 high school players from across the nation annually attend the camps.
Beginning his 43rd season as head coach, Paterno's squad returns 18 starters (9 defense, 8 offense, 2 specialists) from last year's 9-4 squad that defeated Texas A&M in the Valero Alamo Bowl. The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 25 in the final USA Today Coaches poll, earning their 33rd Top 25 finish under Paterno.
During the 2008 campaign, the Nittany Lions will face eight teams that played in bowl games this past year, including five at home: Oregon State (Sept. 6), Illinois (Sept. 27), Michigan (Oct. 18-Homecoming), Indiana (Nov. 15) and Michigan State (Nov. 22).
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