After a strong playing career, first at Boston College and then finishing up at Akron before a brief turn in the pros, Bryce Jones now is carving a similar arc in coaching.
Sources tell FootballScoop that Jones is exiting his role as assistant secondary coach at Penn State to take over the job coaching cornerbacks at FCS program Northern Iowa.
In addition to his time on James Franklin's Nittany Lions staff, Jones -- who was in the NFL with the Houston Texans franchise following his collegiate career -- also has coached at Johnson C. Smith University and in North Dakota at the University of Mary.
Northern Iowa has made some staff changes coming off its 6-5 2023 campaign, the 18th under coach Mark Farley -- who has carved a consistent program and now ranked among the longest-tenured coaches in all of college football.
To open the 2024 season, Northern Iowa has games against Valparaiso and St. Thomas before it travels in Week 3 to face Nebraska in the Cornhuskers' second year of their rebuild under Matt Rhule.