| Ron Vanderlinden |
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Asst. Coach, Linebackers
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Linebackers
Ron Vanderlinden is in his ninth year as linebackers coach and has been pivotal in helping restore the "Linebacker U" tradition. Vanderlinden has developed linebacker units that annually are among the nation's elite. In 2008, Navorro Bowman earned first team All-Big Ten accolades, with 106 hits and 16.5 TFL. In 2007, All-American Dan Connor became the school's career tackle leader, won the Bednarik Award and was a finalist for the Butkus Award. Sean Lee, who missed last yeat with an injury, earned 2007 All-Big Ten honors, was the Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP and returns for 2009. Vanderlinden also worked with Paul Posluszny, the 2005 Butkus Award recipient and two-time All-American and Bednarik Award winner. Vanderlinden, who is very active in Penn State's recruiting efforts, was head coach at the University of Maryland from 1997-2000. A native of Livonia, Mich., he was defensive coordinator at Northwestern from 1992-96 and spent nine years as a defensive assistant at Colorado. He was an important element in the Wildcats' emergence, which produced Big Ten Championship seasons in 1995-96. His defensive pupils at Northwestern included linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, the only other two-time Bednarik Award winner. At Colorado, Vanderlinden coached several NFL draft choices and helped the Buffaloes win the 1990 national championship. He started his career as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green in 1978 and also coached at Michigan and Ball State. A four-year starter at center at Albion College, he twice earned all-conference honors.
