MADISON, Wisc. – The transfer portal is a gamble.
As a coach you’re assuming things are going to work, but really the idea of plugging in a completely new player at a position of need is not a guarantee. For all you know they get hurt or don’t entirely mesh with their teammates. A million things could go wrong, it’s why you do your homework, but at the end of the day you just don’t know.
So it could go badly.
Or you could be defensive end Arnold Ebiketie who came roaring out of the transfer portal from Temple and racked up seven tackles, a sack and influenced even more plays while giving Penn State fans a memorable introductory performance.
“There’s been a buzz about AK since he showed up on campus,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “He’s an explosive guy, a productive guy; I think he’ll only get better from this, and again going against this offensive line, one of the better offensive lines in college football, so to come here and that be his first taste of Big Ten football is interesting.”
It’s hard to overstate how good Ebiketie looked on Saturday. He was everywhere, blowing up plays, always around the ball. He blocked a field goal, he also forced Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz into an intentional grounding on the game’s penultimate play.
And in the middle of the it all he left the field entirely and headed to the locker room with an injury, only to eventually return. The first play back he was in on a tackle.
“I could hear the crowd,” Ebiketie said about being in the locker room following Wisconsin score. “So I knew something bad happened.”
For the former Temple Owl it has been quite the change of scenery from Philadelphia to State College, but the Maryland native has embraced it all, even the jokes.
“This ain’t Temple,” fellow defensive lineman PJ Mustipher said, recounting a joke.
“I mean, he’s fast,” Mustipher added. “You can’t teach speed, and I don’t think you can stop speed oftentimes, so he was able to use that to his advantage and just play reckless and had fun and he made a lot of plays, so, proud of him.”
For Penn State the breakout performance from Ebiketie is a welcome one in the wake of losing Shaka Toney and Jayson Oweh [Now Odafe Oweh] to the NFL. While fans may have expected to see Nick Tarburton be the new marquee name at defensive end- and to his credit he nearly made a crucial interception – it was Ebiketie that made the first impression on the 2021 season at defensive end. Although coaches and teammates expected it.
“Playing behind AK was beautiful,” linebacker Ellis Brooks, who led Penn State with 11 tackles said. “He’s a special player, athletic as I don’t know what, and he’s going to have an amazing year. Playing behind him is perfect.”
And on the other side of the ball? Compliments from offensive tackle Rasheed Walker, an NFL prospect in his own right, don’t come easily.
“I wasn’t surprised. I was just so proud. AK is one of the best pass rushers I’ve ever had to block,” Walker said. “I kind of expected the performance that (he) had. He’s a great player. He’s one of the best pass rushers that I’ve seen since I’ve been in college. I’m just grateful to have him on the team. We battled each other every day in camp, every day in spring ball, we got each other better.”
But like all breakout performances the challenge now is following it up yet again. The good news for fans, coaches and teammates – Wisconsin is far from the easiest team to make your debut against, and putting up that kind of performance bodes well for things to come.
Then again, opposing coaches might not be caught off guard by one of the newest Nittany Lions anymore.
“I can’t take it for granted,” Ebiketie said. “I know at the end of the day next week we have a different opponent. I just gotta get back to work because you’ve just got to keep putting the work in. You can’t take nothing for granted, you just got to keep going and putting in extra work to keep being successful.”
Not a bad way to go about it.
