Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1495456
A P R I L 2 0 2 3 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Franklin also predicted that Barnes will be able to strike a balance between relating to players and pushing them to reach their full potential. "He has the ability to be hard and demanding on them in a way that they respect," Franklin said. "A lot of times, younger coaches have a hard time with that." Penn State has not often promoted from within during Franklin's tenure. Most of the position coaches he has hired have come from outside of the program, including the team's most recent addition, Marques Hagans, who arrived from Virginia in late January to take charge of the wide receivers. However, Franklin said that there are advantages to making internal hires whenever possible, noting that Barnes will help maintain continuity within a defense that last year allowed only 18.23 points per game to rank 10th in the FBS. "He understands our culture al- ready," Franklin said. "He understands the defensive scheme. When you go out and hire a more experienced coach from the outside … that guy has got to spend time learning the defense and understanding the culture. You can make arguments both ways, but I was very impressed with Deion and how he interviewed." Barnes inherits an experienced de- fensive line group that he knows well. However, Penn State must replace starting tackle PJ Mustipher and also develop players throughout its depth chart. "I think Deion is going to be able to build off of what we've done the last couple of years," Franklin said. "But I also think he's going to put his stamp on it. "I know one of the things that's re- ally important to him is effort. That sounds like a simple thing, but we think there's a little bit left in the tank to get our guys to play on a different level when it comes to effort." ■ Penn State Loses Analyst Ken Whisenhunt to Crimson Tide Penn State lost a key off-field staff member in February when analyst Ken Whisenhunt left to join Nick Saban's football staff at Alabama. Whisenhunt, an NFL coaching veteran who served as an analyst with the Nittany Lions for the past two seasons, is listed in the Crimson Tide's athletics department directory as a special assistant to the head coach. While his role in State College was never publicly defined, Whisenhunt was widely viewed as a sounding board for James Franklin. He was often seen near the Nittany Lions' head coach on game day, especially this past season. An Augusta, Ga., native, Whisenhunt started his coaching career in 1995 at Vanderbilt. During an NFL career that spanned more than two decades, he was the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. He also held two head coaching jobs, first with the Arizona Cardinals (2007-12) and later with the Tennessee Titans (2014-15). Whisenhunt became the second analyst to leave Penn State this offseason, joining Charlie Frye, who in December was named offensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic. Franklin did make three additions to his support staff, bringing back former PSU safety Calvin Lowry as an analytics coordinator and promoting graduate assistant Deion Barnes to an analyst role. Barnes served in that capacity for only about six weeks before being promoted again, this time to an assistant coaching job overseeing the defensive line. On March 14, Franklin announced that Penn State had hired Torrence Brown as a graduate assistant. Brown is a former PSU defensive end who was part of Franklin's first recruiting class in 2014. — Greg Pickel THE BARNES FILE Personal Age: 30 Hometown: Philadelphia College: Penn State '15 Coaching Experience 2023-present: Penn State (defensive line) 2020-23: Penn State (graduate assistant/ analyst) Playing Experience 2019: San Antonio Commanders (Alliance of American Football) 2016: Kansas City Chiefs 2015: New York Jets 2011-14: Penn State Barnes was a standout defensive end for the Nittany Lions, winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2012. BWI FILE PHOTO