Story byReading Eagle, Pa. Rich Scarcella, Reading Eagle, Pa. Fri, December 26, 2025 at 4:46 AM UTC·2 min readDeion Barnes, who had been on the Penn State football coaching staff since 2020, resigned earlier this week to become the defensive line coach at South Carolina. A Philadelphia native, Barnes is a former Penn State defensive end who played from 2012-14 and was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2012. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe joined James Franklin’s staff as a graduate assistant in 2020 and was promoted to defensive line coach in 2023 after John Scott Jr. left the Nittany Lions to join the Detroit Lions staff. Barnes was instrumental in developing such players as Abdul Carter, Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Barnes’ departure leaves offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, special teams coordinator Justin Lustig, co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, linebackers coach Dan Connor and wide receivers coach Marques Hagans as Franklin’s only former assistants whose futures are uncertain. Interim head coach Terry Smith will remain on the Penn State staff with new head coach Matt Campbell, who was hired earlier this month after spending 10 years at Iowa State. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBarnes will join Stan Drayton on the South Carolina staff. Drayton has spent this season at Penn State and has remained there through Saturday’s Pinstripe Bowl. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who spent one season at Penn State, has resigned to take the same job at Tennessee. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who’s headed for Florida, also has stayed with the Lions and will coach in Saturday’s game against Clemson before leaving for the Gators. Tight ends coach Ty Howle and quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien have left Penn State to join Franklin’s staff at Virginia Tech. As far as the Penn State roster goes, cornerback A. J.
