Blue White Illustrated

I t may have taken a few extra weeks, but defensive lineman Damion Barber 6nally joined the Nittany Lions as classes began for the fall semester last month. A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Barber was forced to delay his enrollment for about two months in order to take a few summer classes. It's fortunate for Penn State that he was able to get his academic situation in order, as he was one of central Pennsyl- vania's most productive players in 2015 and '16. During his junior season, Barber 6n- ished with 47 tackles and 13 sacks as an edge rusher at John Harris High School. He then improved on those statistics as a senior, racking up 67 tackles, in- cluding 27 tackles for loss and another 13 sacks. Those numbers helped earn him the Mid-Penn Commonwealth's Co-Defensive Player of the Year award last season, as well as a first-team All- State nod from the Pennsylvania Foot- ball Writers. Checking in at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, Barber brings some versatility to Penn State's defensive front. With at least three, possibly four full o7-seasons ahead of him, defensive line coach Sean Spencer and the Nittany Lion training sta7 will have an opportunity to mold Barber into whatever suits the team best in the com- ing years. "Damion Barber brings speed, power, aggression and a relentless pass rush on the quarterback," Harrisburg head coach Cal Everett told GoPSUsports.com. "He's also extremely versatile along the defensive line. He'll be able to play multiple positions. His work ethic is great. He has grown from a young man into a hard-working young man. His work ethic right now is definitely where it needs to be." Terry Smith, Penn State's assistant head coach and defensive recruiting co- ordinator, also had strong praise for Barber during the staff 's signing day press conference last February. "He's a great kid who is obviously tremendously talented. He's very quick off the football and he has the kind of body that, coming in, could potentially play defensive end or grow into a tackle." Barber was one of the first prospects in his recruiting class to make a commit- ment to the Nittany Lions. Following quarterback Sean Clifford's decision, which took place in July 2015, Penn State was forced to wait until after the 2015 season to pick up commitments two and three, as both Barber and fellow defen- sive end Yetur Gross-Matos verbally committed during a junior day visit in February 2016. Leading up to that, Barber had taken 6ve uno8cial visits to University Park, so he already knew what James Franklin and his sta7 had to o7er. However, there was one person who still had to sign o7 on the move. "I've been there a lot, so I knew what I wanted, but my mom wasn't able to see everything until today," Barber said fol- lowing his commitment. "Once she got there and got to see everything and meet everyone, she fell in love with it. She loved the coaches and she likes how much they care about their players. "Also, the education that I'll receive there is great, so today was really about her. Now that I was able to show her how nice everything was, she told me that now would be the best time to do it." Barber is expected to redshirt this sea- son. ■ Barber's arrival bolsters PSU's defensive front | THE BARBER FILE STATS Led the Mid-Penn League with 27 tackles for loss (67 tackles overall) and was second with 13 sacks as a senior... Had 47 tackles and 13 sacks as a junior... Finished his career with 38 sacks... Was a three-year letterman and a captain on a 2016 team that went 11-4 and reached the PIAA Class 5A championship game HONORS Named a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 10 player in Pennsylva- nia and No. 32 defensive end nationally... Named Mid- Penn Commonwealth Co-Defensive Player of the Year as a senior... Was named first-team All-State by the Pennsylvania Football Writers and Eastern- PAFootball.com... Was the Pennsylvania Football News' Class 5A Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 Rivals.com CLICK HERE to see video of Barber in action. U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L

• Cover