Notre Dame coordinator Al Golden focuses on present, not on his ties to Penn State

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden hasn’t made this week about him and his connection with Penn State.

The 55-year-old Golden played tight end for the Nittany Lions and made a memorable touchdown catch in 1990 in an upset win over the Fighting Irish, ranked No. 1 at the time.

Current Notre Dame players didn’t hear about it from Golden; they found the video clip on YouTube.

“We’ve seen it,” linebacker Jack Kiser said. “We’ve watched it. There’s another video of him working out in the Penn State gym with a cutoff T-shirt on. It’s pretty funny.”

Golden nimbly handled Penn State questions about his playing days, his one season (2000) on the coaching staff and applying for the head coaching job in 2014 when James Franklin was hired.

But there’s a human element to this week for him, too. He’ll be coaching against his alma mater when the Irish and the Nittany Lions meet in the Orange Bowl at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (TV-ESPN).

He was Virginia’s defensive coordinator when Penn State assistant coaches Anthony Poindexter and Marques Hagans played for the Cavaliers.

“It’s hard,” he said. “You never lose your friends. I haven’t been back in a while and it’s really because my season runs congruent with their season. My friends go back either in the spring or during the season. I can’t.

“I wish them success and greater things, but really my focus has been on our journey.”

Golden’s coaching journey began at Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic, his high school alma mater. He went on to coach at Boston College, Penn State and Virginia before becoming head coach at Temple in 2006.

He guided the Owls to a 27-33 record in five seasons and left to become head coach at Miami (Fla.), where the Hurricanes went 32-25 before he was fired in the middle of the 2015 season.

He went on to the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-coordinator-al-golden-171600646.html

Author : Reading Eagle, Pa.

Publish date : 2025-01-08 17:16:00

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