After losing out to Ohio State, Penn State's dream WR target is back on the market

Seemingly every time James Franklin went up against the Ryan Day Buckeyes, Ohio State had one decided edge that the Nittany Lions couldn’t overcome: WR. Under Brian Hartline, Columbus transformed into a wide receiver factory, while in the waning years of the Franklin era, Penn State couldn’t seem to find a big-time playmaker on the outside. 

Franklin’s solution for 2025 was to go all-in on transfer portal veterans, adding Devonte Ross, Kyron Hudson, and Trebor Pena, in a failed attempt to finally ascend to the college football mountaintop. Though those weren’t his staff’s only efforts to upgrade the position. They also made a frenzied push to flip New Jersey five-star Quincy Porter from the Buckeyes. 

Franklin and general manager Andy Frank never closed the deal with Porter, but now Matt Campbell and Derek Hoodjer have their chance. With Hartline leaving to become the head coach at USF, Porter has entered the transfer portal, and Penn State has to do whatever it can to get him to Happy Valley. 

2025 5-star Quincy Porter enters the transfer portal after 1 year at Ohio State

Porter caught just four passes in 2025, buried on the depth chart behind Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Though even when both of those superstar wideouts missed time down the stretch, Porter struggled to secure a role in the Buckeye offense. 

Yet, despite an underwhelming true freshman season, the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder is oozing with talent and has four years of eligibility to tap into it. Penn State, with its new staff, can make a case as the perfect place for him to do just that. 

Franklin’s staff and wide receiver coach Marques Hagans failed to develop a top pass-catcher over the final years of their time in Happy Valley. But during that time, Campbell and Noah Pauley, who followed him to Penn State, were turning high school three-stars into NFL prospects, like 2024 Day 2 picks Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. 

If Pauley can take Higgins and turn him into a young NFL star, he can certainly do the same with Porter. The 6-foot-4 Higgins was a zero-star recruit out of high school in 2021 when he signed with Eastern Kentucky. 

After two years there, he made his way to Iowa State, where he nearly posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. In 2024, he caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns. He was the exact type of big-bodied outside threat that Porter undoubtedly hopes to one day be.  

Penn State certainly won’t be the only program in on Porter, and the Nittany Lions have set their sights on other WRs in the portal as well, so it’s not Porter or bust for Campbell and Pauley either. Still, missing on a player like that from a Penn State recruiting pipeline like New Jersey, twice, would be a tough pill to swallow.