By Derek Levarse dlevarse@timesleader.com
One by one, Penn State’s linebackers will join the video call. For Brent Pry, the relief comes when he sees the last player pop up on his screen.

The Nittany Lions defensive coordinator is as concerned for the mental health of his charges as he is the physical during the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“You wonder about guys between meetings and what’s going on in their lives,” Pry said Tuesday on a separate video call with reporters. “When you first jump back on that (call with players), my thought always is, is everybody joining in? I’m waiting for that last guy to hook up and see his face.

“You just don’t want to see anybody kind of slipping away or giving into this thing. And we’ve been really good.”

Instead of reaching the midpoint of spring practice this week with the Blue-White Game on the horizon, Pry and the rest of the Lions are scattered throughout the country, forced to hold their meetings virtually.

College football remains in a holding pattern like all major sports and many other aspects of life. The Blue-White Game has been canceled and it looks increasingly unlikely that Penn State or any program will have anything resembling spring practice.

As for the 2020 season itself, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said Tuesday that he expects a plan will need to be in place at the end of May to determine a timeline for preseason workouts, practices and games themselves.

“A lot has to do with what the universities decide for their students on campus and what the public health officials believe,’’ Scott told The Mercury News of San Jose. “The decision is not really in our control.”

Whatever happens the rest of the year, Pry’s presence is critical for the Lions.

Penn State is breaking in four new coaches. And with Ricky Rahne and Sean Spencer having left during the winter, Pry is the lone assistant left from head coach James Franklin’s Vanderbilt staff. The only other coach remaining from Franklin’s initial 2014 group when he arrived in Happy Valley is cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, a former Lions letterman.

Given that, Pry likely has a larger influence on the program as it appears to have the most talent on the roster top-to-bottom in Franklin’s seven seasons.

Pry’s fingerprints could be found on the most recent coaching hire as John Scott Jr. takes over the defensive line after Spencer left for an NFL job. Scott had previously worked with Pry at three different stops, and that familiarity was important.

“We’re very much on the same page, so that transition is very smooth,” Pry said. “John is certainly going to bring some fresh ideas.”

To help out, Penn State has also brought in former letterman and All-Big Ten defensive end Deion Barnes to serve as a graduate assistant on defense.

“It’s tough to lose a guy like Spence, but when you can hire some guys like John Scott and Deion Barnes, it makes you feel really good,” Pry said. “First of all, those guys want to be with us. Guys that were highly sought after, want to be here at Penn State and believe in what we’re doing.”

Penn State relied heavily on its defense for much of a successful 2019 season, particularly in the early going as new quarterback Sean Clifford grew into the starting job.

It could be a similar situation whenever the Lions do return to the field, as the offense adjusts to new coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca.

When Rahne left to become head coach at Old Dominion, Pry supported bringing in Ciarrocca to lead the offense from Minnesota after the Golden Gophers outgunned Pry’s unit on the field in November.

That’s given Pry an opportunity to try and patch some holes in his own scheme.

“We’ve had a couple of discussions about some key plays in that game where they were able to take advantage of some things and why,” Pry said.

“I’m anxious to learn from Kirk and I’m very glad that he’s on board with us.”

As for his players, Pry still works directly with the linebackers and is excited about the ceiling of his group, led by consensus All-American Micah Parsons. Though multi-year starters Cam Brown and Jan Johnson are gone, there is plenty of talent and depth with former five-star recruit Brandon Smith battling for a job along with the likes of Ellis Brooks and Jesse Luketa.

The Lions would have greatly preferred getting longer looks at younger players like Smith and Lance Dixon during spring ball, but the coronavirus spread has created far bigger concerns for everyone.

Pry said it’s been a balancing act of following the health crisis itself and trying to go about a routine.

“These days are kind of like roller coasters,” Pry said. “One minute, it’s descriptive documentation of what’s going on out there, and it’s just terrible in some places. Heartbreaking.

“Other times, you’re trying to go about your business, and continue to grow your family and develop these players and help everybody get through this in the right way and the best way.”