Shane Beamer is set to hire Deion Barnes as South Carolina football’s new EDGE coach, GamecockCentral.com has confirmed.
The news was originally reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Barnes will replace Sterling Lucas, who departed recently to take a similar position at LSU.
After playing for Penn State from 2012 until 2014, Barnes spent two seasons in the National Football League with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.
He started his coaching career with an appointment as a graduate assistant beginning in 2020. In advance of the 2023 season, Barnes was promoted to the full-time defensive line position by James Franklin.
During his first five seasons working with the defensive line in State College, Barnes has helped coach 20 all-conference selections. He’s also worked with three All-Americans.
In 2024, Abdul Carter led the nation in in tackles for loss and was a unanimous All-American selection prior to becoming a top five NFL Draft pick.
As a player, Barnes was the Big Ten freshman of the year in 2012.
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