Penn State is 10-1 heading into its regular season finale against Maryland at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. With a win, the Nittany Lions will almost certainly lock down a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, but in college football, you must always keep one eye on the offseason.
James Franklin’s primary focus is on making the postseason, but the 20-day football transfer portal window opens the day after the CFP field is announced on December 8, and even a quest to a national championship won’t stop player movement. The Nittany Lions shouldn’t expect to lose many or any players until the season comes to an official end, but once it does, this group of 5 underclassmen could be heading to the portal or the NFL draft.
With an eye to the future, Franklin and his coaching staff know they’ll be without seniors like Tyler Warren and Jaylen Reed who both have promising NFL futures, but what about the players who still have eligibility? These five will likely opt not to return to Happy Valley for 2025, or at least will consider all their options this offseason.
Abdul Carter was an All-American at linebacker in 2023 and now he’s a Bednarik Trophy finalist in 2024 at defensive end and a top NFL draft prospect. In ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest 2025 NFL draft big board, he had Carter listed as his No. 3 prospect behind Colorado two-way superstar Travis Hunter and Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, the defensive MVP of last year’s national championship game.
As a full-time pass rusher, Carter has racked up eight sacks, two forced fumbles, and 39 total quarterback pressures. Penn State’s sack production has fallen off with the departure of former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who is now the head coach at Duke, but it would have cratered even further when Dani Dennis-Sutton missed time with an injury if Carter wasn’t so dominant.
Carter is a sure thing to leave for the NFL and the Nittany Lions will struggle to replace him in 2025.
Kevin Winston Jr. has had an interesting 2024 campaign and the uncertainty around his situation makes it even more unlikely that he’ll return for 2025. The junior entered the year as one of the top 2025 NFL draft prospects at the safety position before an injury suffered in Week 2 has kept him sidelined all year. James Franklin has yet to clarify his injury beyond calling it “long-term,” so the severity of that injury, once it’s revealed, could determine his draft stock this Spring.
Players are getting paid handsomely at the collegiate level now, but a serious injury could have Winston prioritizing the guaranteed money that the NFL offers. It’s far from a certainty either way, but at this point, it appears more likely that Winston will head for the league than return to college football, either at Penn State or anywhere else.
Penn State’s 2023 recruiting class was loaded with potential future starting offensive linemen. Five-stars J’ven Williams and Alex Birchmeier were the headliners, but four-star Anthony Donkoh was the first to the starting lineup, winning the right tackle job in fall camp.
Donkoh was injured in Week 13 against Minnesota, giving way to Wisconsin transfer Nolan Rucci, and further revealing Penn State’s logjam in the trenches. Onoh has played just seven snaps this season, and with only two spots on next year’s offensive line likely up for grabs, replacing Sal Wormley at right guard and Nick Dawkins at center, there will be more than one odd man out.
True freshman Cooper Cousins has been a key reserve this year and will almost certainly be next season’s starting center. That leaves Donkoh, Rucci, Williams, Birchmeier, Eagon Boyer, and quite a few others fighting for snaps. It may not be Onoh specifically, but it’s likely that at least one Penn State offensive lineman transfers away this offseason because there is just too much talent and too many teams across the country that need players to fill holes up front.
In 2022, Nicholas Singleton emerged as a superstar true freshman, rushing for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns. In the two seasons since Singleton has dealt with nagging injuries and has yet to clear 1,000 rushing yards or 10 touchdowns, and is unlikely to in 2024, unless for a long CFP run.
Singleton and Kaytron Allen have split carries throughout their three-year careers in Happy Valley, and this year Allen has been the workhorse and leading rusher. Injuries have clearly affected Singleton and his explosiveness, and the further removed he gets from his stellar freshman year, the further his draft stock will fall. The time is now for Singleton to capitalize on his talent and enter the NFL draft.
I’d expect Singleton to leave for the draft and Allen to return. Penn State has more than enough talented young backs to pair with him in the backfield in 2025 and Corey Smith in his redshirt freshman season next year will be a fit to replace Singleton’s home-run-hitting speed.
At this point, if you asked who Penn State’s quarterback in 2025 will be, I’d still say Allar. Still, it’s important to explore the reality that the NFL falls in love with the 6-foot-5 former five-star quarterback through a CFP run and he shoots up draft boards.
Allar is already on the NFL radar and would almost certainly be a Day 2 pick if he left this offseason, though, every quarterback prospect is after that coveted fifth-year option that comes with being a first-round draft pick. If he returns to Penn State for 2025, he’ll have a chance to climb up into Round 1, especially with an improved wide receiver corps and an additional season in Andy Kotelnicki’s offense, however, he could also have flaws exposed like Georgia’s Carson Beck has after entering the year as the consensus No. 1 QB.
If Allar does go, Penn State will have a nice contingency plan with a QB battle between Beau Pribula and Ethan Grunkemeyer.