Deion Barnes Season 2012

Deion Barnes enters his junior season with an opportunity to be a leader for a talented and deep defensive line unit that should be among the best in the Big Ten. Barnes and senior C.J. Olaniyan return with an opportunity to be one of the most productive and assertive defensive end tandems in the conference. Already blessed with tremendous physical attributes and a relentless attitude, his efforts in the weight room have added several pounds to his frame since last season. Barnes is coming off an outstanding spring practice session where he earned the squad[apos]s Frank Patrick Memorial 'Total Commitment' Award for his efforts. The honor goes to a junior class member who consistently displays a total commitment to academics, off-season preparation, in-season commitment and community service in honor of Patrick, who was a Penn State assistant coach from 1949-73. A 2013 preseason candidate for the Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Trophy, Barnes was the 2012 Big Ten Thompson-Randle El Freshman-of-the-Year. Possessing a great motor and big play ability, he started 10 games last year and has made 18 career starts. Barnes recorded 28 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two pass breakups and one forced fumble last year. He has recorded four forced fumbles, 8.0 sacks and 14.0 TFL in his first two seasons. The former Northeast High School all-state honoree will be counted on for leadership and continued productivity for the unit and has a very promising future. Barnes is on schedule to graduate in December. He is among 15 returning Nittany Lions from Eastern Pennsylvania.

2013 - Junior Season
Barnes started 10 games, boosting his total to 18 career starts. He recorded 28 tackles, 4.0 tackles for a loss, 2.0 sacks, two pass breakups and one forced fumble. A preseason candidate for the Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Trophy, he made one tackle, batted down a pass and posted a pair of quarterback hurries in the season-opening win over Syracuse. He made two tackles against both Eastern Michigan and UCF. Barnes was a defensive stopper against Kent State as he tied his career-high, previously set at Nebraska in 2012, with six tackles, 0.5 sack and one tackle for a loss in the 34-0 win over the Golden Flashes. He had three tackles, including one minus-yardage play, in the pulsating four-overtime win over No. 18 Michigan. In the win over Illinois, Barnes made three stops, including 0.5 tackle for loss. He recorded four tackles, with 0.5 sack and 1.0 TFL at Minnesota. Barnes registered his fourth career forced fumble to go with one sack for a loss of eight yards and three tackles in the win over Purdue. He notched a solo stop and added a pass breakup in the huge season-ending victory at No. 14 Wisconsin.

2012 - Sophomore Season
In his first season on the field, Barnes appeared in all 12 games, with eight starts. He was selected the 2012 Thompson-Randle El Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year, becoming the second Nittany Lion to receive the conference[apos]s freshman honor. Barnes was a consensus first-team Freshman All-American, earning the honor from CBSsports.com, Sporting News, CollegeFootballNews.com, Fox Sports/Scout.com and Phil Steele[apos]s College Football. 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. Barnes tied for No. 3 in the conference with three forced fumbles, tied for No. 5 in the Big Ten in sacks (6.0) and was No. 14 with 10.0 tackles for loss, leading the team in sacks and TFL. He made 26 tackles (14 solo) and had one pass breakup. Barnes played a vital role for a defense that ranked second in the Big Ten and No. 16 nationally in scoring defense at 19.1 ppg, holding six teams to 17 or fewer points. Barnes recorded his first two career sacks at Virginia and made five tackles in the 34-7 win over Navy, including his third sack in two games. He shared Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week honors after the 34-7 win over the Midshipmen in Bill O[apos]Brien[apos]s first career head coaching victory. He made two solo stops in the win over Temple, had 0.5 sacks and two stops in the 35-7 victory at Illinois and combined on a sack and had a pass breakup in the 39-28 win over No. 24 Northwestern. Barnes made three hits in a 38-14 win at Iowa and had one TFL and forced his team-leading third fumble of the season to set up a first-quarter touchdown in the 34-9 victory at Purdue. Barnes recorded a season-high six tackles (four solo) and 3.0 TFL for minus-13 yards, including a sack, at No. 18 Nebraska. He had three hits in the win over Indiana, including an 11-yard sack, and registered three stops in the pulsating Senior Day overtime win over Wisconsin.

2011 - Freshman Season
Redshirt season.

High School
Barnes was named second-team all-state, first-team All-Public League and Philadelphia Public School Player-of-the-Year at Northeast High School for coach Chris Riley. Barnes helped Northeast win its first Philadelphia Public League championship since 1983. During his senior season, he recorded 85 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. Barnes also had three receiving touchdowns and blocked three punts. Rivals.com listed Barnes as the nation[apos]s No. 6 prep defensive end in 2010.

Personal
Full name is Deion Deryl Barnes. He is on schedule to graduate in December with a degree in recreation, parks and tourism management. Born January 20, 1993 in Philadelphia, Pa.