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Penn State assistant Deion Barnes is thriving on the recruiting trail by keeping his approach simple

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•08/18/23•

GregPickel

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Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes. (Greg Pickel/BWI)

Penn State hired letterman Deion Barnes to be its new defensive line coach just before spring practice started. The Lions were put in a lurch when incumbent John Scott Jr., abruptly left the program to take a job with the NFL’s Detroit Lions. It put head coach James Franklin in a less-than-ideal spot, as the football world’s offseason game of coach musical chairs was already over.

After nine seasons at the helm of this program and three more as Vanderbilt’s leader, Franklin has hit plenty of curve balls out of the park. This was just the latest one. He didn’t panic. Instead, he interviewed candidates from the college and NFL level. None could beat out Barnes. After speaking with him at Penn State local media day Sunday, it’s not hard to see why.

“We interviewed him, and it was probably one of those interviews where you interview somebody to basically cover your bases,” Franklin said at Big Ten Media Days. “We interviewed him, and a bunch of established college coaches, we interviewed him, and a bunch of established NFL coaches, and he blew them all away. He dominated the interview. From that point on, I started looking at Deion as a legit candidate for this position.”

The big question mark on Barnes’ resume was his lack of recruiting experience as a full-time assistant. He coached on field as a graduate assistant at Penn State. Before that, he was the defensive coordinator at Northeast High in Philadelphia. Neither is exactly comparable to being a FBS position coach. But, there was enough information to know what he could do in that regard. How he would handle directly fighting some of the nation’s top programs for championship-level defensive lineman, however, was more of an uncertainty.

Barnes’ style allows him to thrive as a recruiter at Penn State

You don’t need to spend much time talking with Barnes to see why six players who could play along the defensive line in college have picked Penn State since he took over, including top-100 talent and four-star Liam Andrews. He does not try to be someone he is not. If he knows an answer to a question, he can articulate it well. If he doesn’t, he’s not afraid to tell you that, either. Barnes oozes genuineness and honesty, which is something recruits of all ages want and can relate to.

“I just be myself,” Barnes said when asked about his recruiting style. “The same person I am on an everyday basis is the same way I’m going to talk to recruits. I’m going to relate in some way. And, I’m not trying to sell anything.

“This is who I am. And if you like who I am, and if you like where we are, and what this university can do for you, and what you can do for this university, and you see yourself here, that’s the guys that are going to come here.”

It’s been so far, so good for the Lions lettermen both on the field and in the recruiting world as he readies for his first full-time season in State College.

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