How Deion Barnes stood out, the QB competition and more from James Franklin

James Franklin wanted to have his defensive line coach in place prior to spring break, which began March 6, but for one reason or another the process drew out.

But as it turned out, that new coach had been in the building all along. Franklin was able to bring the news to his players Sunday afternoon that graduate assistant Deion Barnes would be the new defensive line coach.

Franklin, at his first press conference of spring ball, said his preference is to promote from within but emphasized that Barnes had to prove himself through the process.

“Although Deion is a letterman and although the players and former players felt strongly about me hiring Deion, ultimately I had to hire the right person,” Franklin said. “If that ended up being Deion, then great. It’s a win on a lot of different levels. But I needed to make sure of that. And throughout that process it just became more and more obvious that this was the right thing to do.”

It helps that he’s had the last three seasons to work with the current group of linemen, but that he also understands the program after playing at Penn State from 2012-2014.

While his relationship with the university helped, it was Barnes’ interview that set him over the top as a candidate.

“I was very impressed with Deion and how he interviewed,” Franklin said. “... I think the other thing that really jumped out to me that I thought he did a good job in the interview process is you felt, not only did you hear it, but you felt his passion for coaching D-line, you felt his passion for Penn State, and you felt his passion for this specific group of defensive linemen that he has a relationship with.”

He was one of many candidates the team interviewed across the NFL and college, according to Franklin, and takes over for John Scott Jr. who left for the Detroit Lions.

Now that he takes over for Scott, he’ll have to handle the transition from helping out to commanding the room on his own. Franklin said that can be an adjustment for any position coach, but highlighted the relationship Barnes has with the players in his group.

“He’s got really strong relationships,” he said. “But I also think they need, the players need to understand, and I know Deion addressed this with ‘em yesterday, like, this is not going to be the same Deion, as much as he thinks he’s going to be and as much as they think he’s going to be, when you’re in a complementary role compared to running the show and running the room, there’s a transition that happens.”

Quarterback competition

The focal point of the upcoming 15 spring practices will be quarterback, where Penn State will debut a new full-time starter for the first time since 2018 after Sean Clifford started at the position for four years.

“If you look at last year, we had a very specific plan to get Drew as many reps as we possibly could to build that depth and to build that experience so if we needed him he was ready, but also to help us this year moving forward,” Franklin said. “This year’s a little bit different because we’re back to kind of having a true competition again.”

It would be a surprise if sophomore Drew Allar doesn’t win the job, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have to fight for it. Fellow sophomore Beau Pribula will be his main competitor, while freshman Jaxon Smolik will also split reps with the two second-year quarterbacks.

While Allar should be able to eventually come out on top, that doesn’t mean Pribula is guaranteed to be shut out of playing time. His athleticism could present him opportunities to get snaps in games even if Allar starts.

“I do think there’s a little bit different dynamic based on, I would say Sean and Drew’s skill sets were probably more similar,” Franklin said. “They were different, but they were probably more similar, where I think maybe the differences between Drew and Beau may be a little bit more dramatic in terms of their skill sets.”

Wide receiver plan

Quarterback will draw the attention this spring, but the developments at wide receiver might be even more crucial in dictating how Penn State’s 2023 season goes.

The Nittany Lions have to replace their top two receivers from last year’s team and are doing it with a variety of options. Malik McClain transferred in from Florida State in January and is expected to compete for a starting job. Kent State wide receiver Dante Cephas committed to the team in January but won’t be able to enroll until after the spring semester is over. He’s the easiest player to pencil in as a starter after he posted 1,984 receiving yards over the last two years.

Then there’s a long list of returning players, headlined by KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans. Those three saw the most reps last season, but none are guaranteed to start.

Franklin said what happens at receiver is of increasing importance.

“If you look at college football and if you look at the NFL ... probably the area where you can change games the fastest in college football and the NFL right now is at wide receiver,” he said. ”I think it’s something that we all from a common sense perspective have always understood, there’s just more space out there. So if you get somebody out there that can either run past everybody or catch a short ball and make people miss and go 80 (yards), that changes the game.”

That being said, the team still needs its group of players to step up and separate themselves. Franklin said he would ideally have three players separate themselves as clear starters, and the room has the talent to get there, but there are other issues at play that they need to work on.

“I think the potential is there,” he said. “We got to go earn it and we got to go show it and like I’ve talked to you guys in the past, I think the biggest word for me is consistency. And that’s not at wide receiver, that’s at every position. Pretty much everybody in that room is there for a reason. They have the ability to do it and they have shown flashes. It’s about consistency.”

Quick hitters

• Star left tackle Olu Fashanu will be a full participant in spring ball after suffering an injury that ended his season early last year. Left guard Landon Tengwall will be a full participant by the team’s third spring practice.

• Drew Shelton will enter the year competing with Caedan Wallace for the team’s starting right tackle position.

• Hunter Nourzad and Nick Dawkins will compete for the open center position after Juice Scruggs left for the NFL. Other players, like Vega Ioane and Saleem Wormley could also get reps at center.

• Former Penn State defensive end Torrence Brown has rejoined the program to take over the vacant graduate assistant position Deion Barnes left behind.