Penn State Football makes top 5 of their top lineman target in transfer portal

Former Cornell offensive linemen Hunter Nourzad officially lists a top five which includes Penn State Football who offered the Ivy Leaguer last month

Penn State Football is squarely in the mix for their top offensive linemen target in the transfer portal Hunter Nourzad who released his top five schools via Twitter on Monday.

Nourzad, the former Cornell offensive tackle who has had a steady stream of power five offers since entering the transfer portal in November has narrowed down his list of potential suitors to five. The Nittany Lions checked in on the list along with Auburn, Virginia Tech, Iowa and Illinois.

He is a former Second-Team All-Ivy League selection in 2019 who started the final 20 games of his Cornell career at both tackle positions but plans to make the move to the interior offensive line in his next stop which is ideal for a Penn State Football offense who struggled at those positions in 2021.

Head coach James Franklin went the Ivy League rout last offseason with the addition of guard Eric Wilson who ended up starting 11 games for Penn State Football this past season.

Nourzad is listed at six-foot-four and 298 pounds by Cornell’s official team site and would fill a position of need as Wilson and Michael Miranda are probably off to the NFL. Juice Scruggs would make for an obvious choice to move over to center where he saw some playing time this season, so both guard positions figure to be up for grabs.

Currently Nourzad is the only offensive lineman we know of from the transfer portal that holds an offer from Penn State Football, which makes him not only a need but a major priority for the Nittany Lions.

He has not put a timetable on deciding between the top five, and seeing that he has been in the portal since November he seems to not be in a hurry. He will graduate from Cornell in May and have two years of eligibility remaining, so if he does choose Penn State Football he will not be in Happy Valley until the summer.