Penn State hires Deion Barnes: Video Recap
News broke last night that Penn State hired it’s next defensive line coach. Former Nittany Lion defensive end and current analyst Deion Barnes will be the team’s next coach. He spent the last three seasons as a graduate assistant under former d-line coach John Scott Jr and moved into an analyst role this offseason after his time as a GA was up. Head coach James Franklin issued a statement yesterday about this hire,
“We are excited to have Deion represent his alma mater as our defensive line coach,” said Franklin. “I have really been impressed watching him grow as a coach and leader these last three seasons. Deion’s passion for Penn State and the defensive line room has been a differentiator. It is clear to me that he wears his pride for this University through his work. The respect the players and staff have for Deion showed every day. I look forward to watching him continue to develop and inspire our defensive linemen. He was a great addition to our staff in 2020 and I look forward to watching him thrive in this new role.”
Get Blue White Illustrated’s perspective with our breaking news video recap.
Penn State hires Deion Barnes
For Fitz, this is a big opportunity for Penn State to retool it’s defensive line for the future under Barnes. He’ll have a lot of resources for the upcoming recruiting class,
“So they’re going to take a big class and that’s another good thing for Dion here is he’s got probably seven scholarships to work with, maybe more four defensive tackles, maybe three defensive ends. So he’s got scholarships to work with and that’ll be something that that helps him out.”
Still more work to do on staff side
But while Penn State keeps continuity with Barnes, they will need to bring in fresh faces around him to help. Right now, Barnes is a one-man crew on the defensive line staff.
“Another thing here, and this is more staff personnel than anything; Penn State now has an analyst higher to make on the defensive line. And if you follow the potential rule changes where you’re basically getting analysts that can work with with a defensive defensive line, they can work with position groups [now].”
“Do you bring in a guy that has a ton of experience that maybe is is out of work right now? Maybe you can hire him away from a lower level, something like that to help the numbers. I think that is vital. And also they’ve got [graduate assistant] hire to make here. I know that that doesn’t move the needle here, but it also didn’t move the needle in 2020 when Dion Barnes was brought in.”
