Penn State Football: Franklin Not a ‘Huge Fan’ of the Transfer Portal…but So Far in 2021, It Has Its Advantages

For a guy who is admittedly not a big fan of the transfer portal, James Franklin and his Nittany Lions are certainly reaping its rewards three games into the 2021 season.

“Even though we have had success with the portal, I wouldn’t say necessarily I’m a huge fan and believer in it,” Franklin said this week. “I guess there’s a time and place for everything.”

For Penn State in 2021, now is the time. And a 3-0 record is the place.

In all, Penn State’s current roster features at least 16 players who started their college football careers elsewhere. 

And four of the Nittany Lions’ starters on defense are not of the conventional type who signed with Penn State as high school seniors.

Two joined Penn State via the portal in late December 2020 – defensive end Arnold Ebiketie (Temple), the team’s No. 4 tackler, and defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo (Duke). Ebiketie, who leads the team in tackles for a loss (3) and QB hurries (4), was second-team all-conference at Temple. Tangelo, whose late tackle of Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter helped preserve Penn State’s 28-20 Whiteout game victory, played 45 games and started 27 for Duke.

Two more ­— the starting safety tandem of Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown — transferred from Lackawanna College, a small school in Scranton with under 1,400 students that promotes an 100% acceptance rate. Both have an interception for the Nittany Lions, while Brisker is considered one of the best safeties in the country and has 2.5 tackles for a loss.

For the Nittany Lions’ defense, they have been difference-makers. Hard to imagine Brent Pry’s defense, which has yielded just 14.3 points per game for sixth-ranked Penn State, without them.

In addition to the four starters on defense, the most prominent transfer(s) would have to be the Nittany Lions’ starting punter, place-kicker and kickoff men. They all arrived in Happy Valley via the portal. Of course, all three are just one person — Jordan Stout.

Stout, who handles all three duties for Penn State in 2021, arrived at Penn State after spending the 2017-18 seasons at Virginia Tech. Currently, he is the No. 2 ranked punter in the country, averaging 52.2 yards per punt. All 18 of his kickoffs have been touchbacks – usually blasted through the end zone – and he has made 4 of 6 field goal attempts.

Five players on the Penn State roster heading into Saturday’s game against Villanova in Beaver Stadium are from Lackawanna. In addition to the safeties, Lackawanna alum on the roster include offensive lineman Anthony Whigan, punter Bradley King and wide receiver Norval Black. Franklin also has verbal commitments from current Lackawanna players J.B. Nelson (OL) and Tyrece Mills (DB).

“I guess we view (the portal) like a lot of people do – with the junior college players, like the situation we have with Lackawanna, where you’re trying to maybe fill a void that you have, especially with the upper class,” Franklin said. “Or you’re waiting for a younger guy to grow and develop and mature. That’s how it’s been for us. I wouldn’t say we’re ever going to be a huge transfer portal team. I wouldn’t say we’re ever going to be a huge junior college program.”

But…

“But,” added Franklin, “with having Lackawanna in-state, it’s made a lot of sense to us and I hope it’s made sense to them as well.”

Franklin said he sees the portal as a stop-gap measure to handle roster needs that crop up.

“It’s really to fill immediate needs,” Franklin said. “Maybe you have an injury, maybe you have a guy who just needs another year of development and it probably makes sense for him to be in a complementary role one year and then be the starter the next year. It helps you with that. Get some immediate impact guys from a veteran, experienced, maturity standpoint.”

Veteran cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields said this week that addition of Ebiketie and Tangelo to the Penn State defense was welcomed. No animosity for taking starting jobs away from other players, no problem with them being short-termers – Ebiketie (who goes by AK) has two years of college eligibility remaining, counting 2021, and Tangelo (nicknamed Congo) has one.

“I knew Congo in high school,” Castro-Fields said. “I played his team back in high school twice. It’s kind of easy to fit in our locker room. Everyone just gels together well. If you work hard, no egos and things like that, you’re going to fit in just fine. Both of those guys are selfless, both of those guys work hard, so they fit in super well.”

Franklin echoed those sentiments.

“The thing I’ll say about (Tangelo) is he’s been an unbelievable fit in our locker room,” Franklin said. “He’s got a bunch of personality and really interacts with the players and the coaches really well. I think that’s been important in our locker room, too. I think both AK and Congo have really done a good job of fitting in here culturally to how we do things and have been great from that perspective.”

On the Nittany Lions’ offense, the impact of guard Eric Wilson – a transfer from Harvard, where he already received his degree — has been immediate. He’s started two games for Penn State and has shared time at the left guard spot with Whigan, one of the Lackawanna transfers.

Of course, the portal and transfers go both ways. Since 2014, by my count a total of 45 players have transferred from Penn State to another school to play football. Three of the most prominent are currently playing in the NFL: wide receiver Juwan Johnson (Oregon, New Orleans Saints), linebacker Troy Reeder (Delaware, L.A. Rams) and Zech McPhearson (Texas Tech, Phialdelphia Eagles).

Two former Nittany Lions are now on the University of Florida roster and played last week in the Gators’ 31-29 loss to Alabama. Defensive tackle Antonio Valentino (known as Shelton when he was at PSU), has three tackles for Florida in 2021, while Shorter has six catches for 34 yards, eighth on the Gators’ receiving stat sheet for the season. He had 25 receptions for 268 yards and three TDs in 2020.

THE LIST

Here’s a look at the Nittany Lions on the current roster who started their careers at another institution of higher learning:

Barney Armor, punter, Colgate

Norval Black, wide receiver, Lackawanna College

Jaquan Brisker, safety, Lackawanna College

Ji’Ayir Brown, safety, Lackawanna College

Johnny Dixon, cornerback, South Carolina

Arnold Ebiketie, defensive end, Temple

Winston Eubanks, wide receiver, Shippensburg

Bradley King, punter, Lackawanna College

John Lovett, running back, Baylor

A.J. Lytton, cornerback, Florida State

Tank Smith, running back, St. Francis (Pa.)

Jordan Stout, kicker/punter, Virginia Tech

Derrick Tangelo, defensive tackle, Duke

Jordan van den Berg, Iowa Western

Anthony Whigan, offensive line, Lackawanna College

Eric Wilson, offensive line, Harvard