On Wednesday, the spring transfer portal window officially opened and two Penn State Nittany Lions entered their names, redshirt sophomore linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson and redshirt freshman cornerback Jon Mitchell. Those departures come two days after redshirt senior offensive guard JB Nelson entered the portal as a grad transfer.
Nelson was presumably beaten out by rising sophomore and former five-star Cooper Cousins for the right guard spot, the vacated starting role along the offensive line. With no path to the field in his sixth and final year of collegiate football, Nelson understandably is off to seek playing time. Robinson, however, had the chance to earn more in Happy Valley.
Ta’Mere Robinson enters transfer portal after two years at Penn State
With rising junior linebacker Tony Rojas sidelined during offseason workouts, Robinson had additional exposure but had an uphill battle with Rojas and Dom DeLuca entrenched as starters at off-ball linebacker. Robinson, a former four-star safety recruit out of Western Pennsylvania, was expected to compete with Keon Wylie and Anthony Speca for snaps at linebacker and was primarily a special teams contributor last season.
Jon Mitchell leaves Nittany Lions thin at cornerback
Cornerback has been a priority for Penn State since Kalen King, Johnny Dixon, and Daequan Hardy all entered the 2024 NFL Draft. Last offseason, James Franklin added Jalen Kimber and AJ Harris in the transfer portal as stop-gap options but continued to attack the position on the recruiting trail.
Mitchell was one of Franklin’s most significant recruiting wins, a four-star cornerback out of Florida in the 2024 high school class. Now, the Nittany Lions will be thin at the position following his departure.
Harris and Elliot Washington II are likely starters on the outside with Zion Tracy expected to earn the bulk of the snaps in the slot. However, Mitchell was one of the program’s most important developmental players on the outside who could have earned snaps as a redshirt freshman in 2025.
Franklin has done a great job retaining talent this offseason as the Nittany Lions eye a run at a national championship. And so far, while Robinson and Mitchell may have been contributors, Penn State has avoided disaster in the spring portal window.