New safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter is bringing a wealth of college football experience to Penn State’s coaching staff.

Poindexter played at the University of Virginia from 1994 to 1998 and accumulated 342 tackles and 12 interceptions en route to being named first-team All-ACC three times. Additionally, he was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 1998.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020 due to his legendary career. Poindexter joked that because he played back in the 90s, he’s “like a dinosaur” to some players today.

“I played so long ago that most of the kids I’m talking to nowadays, either they don’t know or they haven’t ain’t done the research,” Poindexter said Monday.

When it comes to Poindexter’s coaching style, it’s not about the fact that he played college football, rather the things he learned and experienced when trying to get his message across.

“For me, it’s not really about my career, it’s about the person I’m coaching’s career,” Poindexter said. “I try to use lessons that I learned when I was playing when I was coming up, and things that I saw on the field as a player that I can relate to them.”

Poindexter explained that the game is a lot different today than it was 25 years ago back when he played. You can’t hit the same way, and you can’t tackle the same way, which he says is “for the better.”

Despite the differences in the game, Poindexter believes the messages he shares with his players resonate more because he once played the game of football just like them.

“I think sometimes when I tell them something, they know my cleats have been in the same spots their cleats have been in, so they’re more receptive to it,” Poindexter said.

Poindexter was primed for stardom at the NFL level before an ACL tear during his senior season caused him to drop to the seventh round in the 1999 NFL draft. He played three seasons in the NFL, two with the Baltimore Ravens and one with the Cleveland Browns.

While the injury ruined a once-promising NFL future for Poindexter, he knew he still wanted to stay in football and impact the lives of young players. He got his first coaching job in 2003 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Virginia.

From there, he became the running backs coach for Virginia in 2004, which is when he met James Franklin.

“I actually kinda met Coach Franklin when I first started coaching,” Poindexter said. “Actually when I became a full-time coach at UVA. We kinda had the same recruiting areas, he had relationships with guys I was working with on the staff. We met each other and just became good buddies.”

He continued, saying that he’s kept in contact with Franklin over the years and has discussed job openings on Franklin’s staff in the past. Poindexter said it all came to fruition due to the timing being right this time around.

Poindexter comes to Penn State with 18 years of college coaching experience under his belt, which includes 11 years at Virginia, three seasons at UConn, and four seasons with Purdue.

He served as UConn’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach during those three years before heading to Purdue to fill the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach role, the same job he’ll fill with the Nittany Lions.

His time with the Boilermakers gives him plenty of Big Ten experience, which is something he can use to his advantage with Penn State.

“I think being in this conference for four years and knowing the style of ball and knowing the style of offenses that you’re going to face from week-to-week, it definitely helps,” Poindexter said. “You know, when I went to UConn from Virginia, it was two totally different conferences. I had to get adjusted to what we were gonna see on Saturdays and what I was calling the defense against.

“Going from the American to the Big Ten was like night and day,” he continued. “But now that I’ve been in the Big Ten, just going to the other side of the Big Ten, we’ve had crossovers with most teams, so I’m kind of familiar with what their systems are, what their schemes are, and what kind of personnel they’re playing with. It is a big help that I’ve been in this Big Ten for now going on five years.”

Throughout his career as a player and coach, Poindexter has crossed paths with several coaches that made an impact on him. He mentioned a few by name, including George Welsh, Bob Christmas, Rick Lantz, Mike London, Bob Diaco, Al Groh, and Jeff Brohm.

“I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of great coaches, a lot of great mentors, and obviously I’ve played with a lot of great players,” Poindexter said. “But all those coaches were the same. They love the kids, they love coaching us, teaching us, and they pushed me every day to be my best.”