One-time Penn State defender leaves program for on-field role

Former Penn State football edge rusher and current analyst Torrence Brown is leaving the Nittany Lions to join the defensive staff at Western Illinois.

First reported by Doug Samuels of FootballScoop, Brown is set to become the new defensive line coach for first-year head coach Joe Davis and the Leathernecks program.

Brown returned to Happy Valley ahead of the 2023 season after spending a year as a graduate assistant under former Penn State assistant Charles Huff at Marshall. He served as a GA for the last two years and was elevated to an analyst role earlier this spring. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native previously coached at Division III Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2020 and Division II Eastern New Mexico in 2021.

As a GA, Brown worked with the Nittany Lions defensive ends under the guidance of former Penn State teammate Deion Barnes. Together, the duo developed pass rushers Chop Robinson and Abdul Carter into first-round selections in the two most recent NFL Drafts.

On the Penn State football roster from 2014-17, Brown was forced to medically retire after suffering an injury during his redshirt junior season. He worked with the Nittany Lions as an undergraduate assistant for one season before resuming his playing career at Southern Miss.

Brown was one of 16 former Penn State football players serving on James Franklin’s staff or in the Nittany Lions athletic department in 2024.

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