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Staff Update: Penn State Adds 2 Analysts With Ties to Jim Knowles

Will Jim Knowles end up at Penn State?
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 15: Ohio State Buckeyes Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Coach Jim Knowles during the LiFEsports Spring Game, presented by Union Home Mortgage at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on April 15, 2023. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire)

As hard as it may be still for some to believe, Jim Knowles is Penn State footballโ€™s defense coordinator, and the program has added a pair of analysts with connections to Knowles.

Shane Eachus, who was a defensive graduate assistant when Knowles was the coordinator ar Oklahoma State, and Brent Zdebski, who was a quality control assistant who worked under Knowles at Ohio State, are now on coach James Franklinโ€™s staff.

Itโ€™s unclear yet what responsibilities these two will have in Happy Valley but itโ€™s probably a safe bet that theyโ€™ll be coming with Knowlesโ€™ endorsement.

Hereโ€™s some more on both of them.

MORE ON EACHUS

Here is some more on Eachus, courtesy of his Georgetown bio. Eachus was Georgetownโ€™s defensive backs coach before moving to Penn State.

โ€œEachus joined the Hoyas in 2023 after one year on the coaching staff at Houston Christian University where he served as a defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He helped the Huskies to become ranked third nationally in defensive touchdowns, ninth in takeaways, 19th in total sacks and 25th in total tackles for loss.

In 2023, the Hoyas led the Patriot League in interceptions with 10, including one interception returned for a touchdown. Eaches also helped coach Rashon Adamas Jr. and Jaden Dugger to earn a spot on the All-Patriot League Second Team.

Eachus spent the previous three seasons (2018-20) as a defensive graduate assistant at Oklahoma State, primarily working with the linebackers. He spent four years (2014-17) at Ursinus College, three as a defensive coordinator and secondary coach. Eachus also served as the graduate assistant and director of player relations at FCS power James Madison from 2012-14, earning a Master of Science in sport and recreation leadership.

A native of Aston, Pennsylvania, Eachus was a four-year letter winner at Ursinus and was a three-year starter at free safety. He was a captain for the 2011 season and was a two-time SAAC All-Centennial Conference selection. He also earned first-team academic all-America, first-team academic all-region and three-time Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll accolades. Eachus graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in psychology and media/communication studies. He is married to Christina Sciarrillo, Ph.D. who is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.โ€

MORE ON ZDEBSKI

Hereโ€™s some more on Zdebski courtesy of his bio on Ohio Stateโ€™s site.

Zdebski comes to Ohio State after spending the 2021 season at Oklahoma State with Jim Knowles. He assisted coaching the safeties, which included first-team All-Big XII and All-American Kolby Harvell-Peel. Prior to Oklahoma State, Zdebski spent three season (2018-2020) in the Big Ten at the University of Wisconsin. There, he was a defensive graduate assistant and assisted coaching outside linebackers.

He held a similar role at Central Michigan in 2017 and Eastern Michigan for the 2016 season. Zdebski spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as an offensive student assistant at UMass, where he supported members of the coaching staff who worked with the teamโ€™s quarterbacks and wide receivers.

Zdebskiโ€™s coaching career began as a defensive student assistant Paul Chrystโ€™s staff at Pittsburgh from the spring of 2013 through the summer of 2014.

A native of Walled Lake, Michigan, Zdebski was a two-time all-state linebacker at Walled Lake Western who went on to play at Kalamazoo College in 2012. He graduated from UMass with a degree in communication in 2016. He later went on to earn a masterโ€™s degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin.

Penn State opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 against Nevada at Beaver Stadium.

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