The Penn State football program has reached a crossroads, or rather, thrust one upon itself by firing James Franklin. Now, with Franklin settled in at Virginia Tech and pushing to pluck recruits for a 2026 high school class that has already been thoroughly raided, his replacement won’t have an easy time rebuilding a veteran-laden roster that came into 2025 with national championship expectations.
To be frank, with a coaching change, every player on the roster could potentially be playing their last game for the Nittany Lions on Saturday when Penn State heads to Rutgers. That number could decrease significantly if Terry Smith is retained as the full-time head coach, though that doesn’t make hiring him a good idea.
There is so much uncertainty in Happy Valley, but this list attempts to narrow it down to some of the underclassmen who will be most likely and, in some cases, most fervently pursued in the transfer portal or the NFL Draft this offseason. Due to injuries, a few have potentially already played their final snaps as Nittany Lions.
Chaz Coleman has been out with an injury since the Ohio State game, and frankly, there’s no reason for him to come back this year. But what a freshman season it was. The late-rising four-star was one of the most impressive true freshmen in the country, registering 15 QB pressures in limited work with a 22.4 percent pass rush win-rate, the best among players with at least 50 pass-rush snaps in the Big Ten. That mark is 12th in the entire country.
Every player on Penn State’s roster will be potentially up for grabs in the transfer portal this offseason, and none of them will be getting bigger offers than Coleman. He’s the No. 1 asset in the program and will be incredibly difficult to hold onto.
A multi-season starter, the junior linebacker was lost for the year back in October. It’s hard to speculate on his future. The NFL path is unlikely, coming off a major injury, but he’ll be a highly sought-after player in college.
Will he want to finish his career in Happy Valley, or will he look for a fresh start post-injury? It’s hard to say, but Rojas is worth bringing up along with Anthony Donkoh, Amare Campbell, Matt Henderson, and Matt Outten, who all played high school football in Virginia. They could be at the top of the list as the most likely players to follow James Franklin to Virginia Tech.
Has A.J. Harris been the lockdown presence at corner that Penn State needed him to be this season? No, but he entered the year as a top NFL prospect for the 2026 draft, and the raw tools that had him on the league’s radar didn’t disappear.
Rather than head into the portal or hang around in Happy Valley, Harris may be ready to take his chances at the next level and hope he can reclaim the preseason draft buzz.
Ioane received preseason All-American hype, primarily based on his unique alignments in Andy Kotelnicki’s offense in 2024. He’s done less moving around this season, but he’s still one of the better offensive guards in the country. As a pass blocker, Ioane has allowed just two pressures and no sacks this season in over 500 snaps at left guard.
With his athleticism and versatility, Ioane could be a Day 2 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, so it’s unlikely that he returns to Happy Valley. Again, the entire roster could turn over, so it’s impossible to speculate, but if Ioane leaves, Anthony Donkoh would be the only starter returning from this year’s offensive line, with Nolan Rucci, Drew Shelton, and Nick Dawkins all out of eligibility.
If Penn State removes the interim tag from Terry Smith, then all bets are off about who is staying in Happy Valley. Grunkemeyer has potentially shown enough in a five-game sample since Drew Allar went out to win Smith over. However, he’s had some seriously shaky moments, and if the Nittany Lions go with an outside hire, that coach will probably want to add a veteran transfer portal quarterback.
This could be said for just about every player on the roster, but Grunkemeyer is another candidate to go with Franklin to Virginia Tech.