Grading Penn State Football coach James Franklin’s offseason
Transfer Portal
The transfer portal was a new weapon for James Franklin this offseason.
In years past, Penn State Football would often lose players to the portal and rarely bring any in. Franklin seemed to do a total 180 on his philosophy on the portal this offseason.
Penn State Football brought in six transfers for the 2021 season: RB John Lovett, DE Arnold Ebiketie, DT Derrick Tangelo, CB Johnny Dixon, CB A.J. Lytton and OG Eric Wilson.
The six are all poised for impact roles this year with Ebiketie and Wilson likely starters are their respective positions. Lovett will help fill depth at running back, as last season we saw how quickly depth can be depleted. Tangelo, Dixon and Lytton all figure to be key rotational pieces. The additions of Dixon and Lytton also allowed the Nittany Lions to move some corners, like Keaton Ellis, to safety, where there was a lack of depth.
If there was one position where Penn State could have also used a transfer at, it would be quarterback. Sean Clifford will be the only quarterback on the roster in 2021 who has completed a pass in a college game. Will Levis and Micah Bowens both transferred out, leaving Taquan Roberson and true freshman Christian Veilleux as the only backups for Clifford.
Many Penn State fans wanted a quarterback who could possibly rival Clifford for the starting job, especially after his struggles last season. At the very least, Franklin needed to bring in a serviceable backup, who has experience at the college ranks, that didn’t happen.
The transfers who were brought in will no doubt help the team win in 2021, but they are a Sean Clifford injury away from some serious problems.