Ever since the NCAA Transfer Portal began in 2018, the acquisition of talent and the challenges of roster management have never been the same. While the old model of a transferring player meant waiting a year – in most cases – for a student-athlete to become eligible for competition, now immediate eligibility meant immediate impact. Recruiting, development and scouting prospects is still the foundation of program building, but the transfer portal changed the ability for coaches to address needs up and down their roster.
All of these challenges are the same for Penn State which has found quite a lot of success looking for players in the transfer portal who have been able to come in and make an immediate impact. Here are the good, the bad, and the TBD of Penn State’s foray into the portal.
The good: There’s no question that Penn State has been able to find success in the transfer portal more than anything else. The good has come on both sides of the ball as well with Mitchell Tinsley turning into a 1A/1B option with Parker Washington and stepping up following Washington’s injury this past season. Ji’Ayir Brown and Jaquan Brisker transferred in from Lackawanna Community College and not the portal, but they still get credit here. All told four different players who have joined Penn State via transfer since 2018 have gone on to be drafted. Chop Robinson is likely to follow next year
The Good:
- Jordan Stout [Drafted]
- Arnold Ebiketie [Drafted]
- Ji’Ayir Brown [Drafted]
- Jaquan Brisker [Drafted]
- Derrick Tangelo
- Mitchell Tinsley
- Eric Wilson
- Barney Amor
- Johnny Dixon
- Chop Robinson
- Hunter Nourzad
The Bad:
In defense of these players, picking up roster depth is as important as anything else. You don’t always need to make a massive impact on the field to make a difference. Nod here to Storm Duck for transferring to Penn State and then transferring out before the season even started. These guys aren’t flops so to speak, but they aren’t going down as big transfer portal steals either. This group is mostly early transfer portal pickups.
- Anthony Whigan
- Norval Black
- Winston Eubanks
- AJ Lytton
- Jake Spencer
- Storm Duck
The To Be Determined:
Dante Cephas stands to be the biggest positive from this list once he enrolls at Penn State this summer. The Nittany Lions are still looking for No. 1 receiver this season and Cephas is as good of an option as anyone to fill that role quite nicely. Trey Potts could see some relief work for the running back room as well while kicker Alex Felkins is another option in an unsettled kicking operation.
- Trey Potts
- Malik McClain
- Dante Cephas
- Riley Thompson
- Alex Felkins
