Jan. 14, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 14, 2015 - Defensive end Deion Barnes (Philadelphia) has accepted an invitation to play in the 66th Reese's Senior Bowl, becoming the fourth Nittany Lion selected to participate in the prestigious contest.
Barnes will join safety Adrian Amos (Baltimore), linebacker Mike Hull (Canonsburg) and offensive tackle Donovan Smith (Owings Mills, Md.) as Nittany Lions to accept invitations for the 2015 Senior Bowl. The four invitees are the most for Penn State since five Nittany Lions were invited to the 2003 Senior Bowl.
Kickoff for the 2015 Senior Bowl is slated for 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 24 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. NFL Network will televise the contest.
Barnes becomes the 32nd Penn State player selected to play in the Senior Bowl in the last 15 years and the 112th Nittany Lion all-time to participate in the Senior Bowl.
Barnes was second on the team and tied for 11th in the Big Ten with 12.5 tackles for loss during the 2014 campaign. He also recorded 6.0 sacks, which were second on the squad and 14th in the conference. Barnes made 44 tackles, led the Nittany Lions with three quarterback hurries and had one forced fumble and one pass break-up this past season.
The former Northeast High School standout finished his career with 98 tackles in three seasons. He also registered 14.0 sacks and 26.5 tackles for a loss during his career. Barnes was the 2012 Thompson-Randle El Big Ten Freshman of the Year after contributing 26 tackles (10 TFL), 6.0 sacks and three forced fumbles as a redshirt freshman.
Additionally, Barnes was a consensus first-team Freshman All-American in 2012. He also was selected honorable-mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media and was named to the ESPN.com and BTN.com Big Ten All-Freshman teams in 2012.
Barnes graduated from Penn State in December, 2014 and chose to forgo his fifth-year senior season.
Coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions capped the 2014 season with a 31-30 overtime win over Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Penn State and Wisconsin are the only Big Ten teams to earn at least 10 consecutive on-field winning seasons. Franklin is among just three Penn State head coaches to win at least seven games in his first season in Happy Valley in the program's 128 years.
Penn State returns 15 starters (7 offense, 7 defense, 1 specialist), and 14 additional players who have started, for the 2015 season. The Blue-White Game is April 18 in Beaver Stadium and the season opener is Sept. 5 at Temple.
Penn State season ticket renewals are underway for the 2015 campaign. The Nittany Lion Club donation and season ticket payment deadline is February 1 for participation in the Beaver Stadium Virtual VenueTM Seat Selection. There will not be any increase in the price of Penn State football season tickets or Nittany Lion Club donation levels for next season.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2015 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays, 10 a.m-6 p.m.
Penn State Football is on Twitter (@PennStateFball) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/PSUFball).