Penn State football adds letterman, PA native in wave of defensive staff additions

Penn State football has several new additions to its program following a series of hirings for the new defensive staff under Jim Knowles on Wednesday.

Headlining the moves is a name that is familiar to many of the Nittany Lion faithful: Greg Gattuso. The Penn State football letterman who has spent the last 11 seasons as the head coach at Albany will join the staff as a defensive line consultant. Compiling a 54-69 record with the Great Danes, Gattuso led Albany to the FCS National Semifinal in 2023, the furthest the program has reached in the FCS playoffs.

“It’s two alma maters I’ve gotten to play at and coach at,” Gattuso said in an emotional press conference on Wednesday. “I did it at my high school [Pittsburgh’s Seton-La Salle], and that’s probably still the best three years in our [family’s] lives. But, [Penn State], it’s very special. I can’t wait to get there.”

Gattuso was a standout defensive lineman for the Nittany Lions and a member of Joe Paterno’s 1982 National Championship team. He also has coaching experience at Duquesne, Pittsburgh, and Maryland.

PA native, Ohio State staffer, among other Penn State football analyst additions

© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Beyond Gattuso’s return, Penn State also added a pair of analysts with ties to new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Shane Eachus joins the staff after spending the last two seasons as the defensive backs coach at Georgetown. Previously serving as the director of player relations at James Madison before the program’s jump to the FBS, Eachus spent three seasons with Knowles as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State.

A native of Aston, Pennsylvania, Eachus was a four-year letterman at Ursinus College in Collegeville, where he would later return as defensive coordinator.

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Brent Zdebski follows Knowles to Happy Valley from Columbus after spending the last three seasons as a quality control coach. This fall will mark the fifth season that Zdebski has worked directly with Knowles, joining the Oklahoma State staff in 2021.

From Walled Lake, Michigan, Zdebski was a graduate assistant at Wisconsin, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan and a student assistant at UMass and Pitt.

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