The Transfer Portal window does not begin until January 2, a solution to players entering the portal during the College Football Playoff, as former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula did this time last year. However, that doesn’t stop players from announcing their intentions to enter their names in the portal.
Penn State now has two players who will be on the market when the portal opens: tight end Joey Schlaffer, who departed the team and announced his intention to transfer in November, and Elliot Washington II, who on Thursday became the first Penn State player to do so since the program hired Matt Campbell to replace James Franklin full-time.
Penn State cornerback Elliot Washington II is entering the transfer portal, a source tells @CBSSports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 11, 2025
The former four-star recruit has posted combined totals of 44 tackles, two interceptions and nine pass breakups the last two years. pic.twitter.com/vfEQyuMWGd
Penn State CB, Elliot Washington II is entering the transfer portal
The junior has one year of eligibility remaining after spending three seasons in Happy Valley, but across that time, he was never able to crack the starting lineup full-time. Stuck behind Audavion Collins, A.J. Harris, and Zion Tracy, and even true freshman Daryus Dixson, on the depth chart this season, Washington played 256 total defensive snaps, finishing the year with 13 total tackles, three pass breakups, and an interception returned for a touchdown.
The Venice, Florida product was a four-star recruit in the 2023 class, ranked No. 175 in the country. He arrived as a safety, but quickly transitioned to corner and played a major role on special teams are a true freshman in 2023.
While Washington is the first to enter the portal, he will not be the last. Athletic director Pat Kraft paying up to keep Terry Smith, who served as the interim head coach for the final six games of the season on Campbell’s staff, may prevent a mass exodus, but there will be significant turnover as the program transitions from the Franklin era.
That turnover may be most significant on the defensive side of the ball, where Campbell has already made a significant change, bringing his longtime defensive coordinator Jon Heacock with him from Iowa State and allowing Jim Knowles to leave for Tennessee. With Heacock in and Knowles out, it’s likely that Penn State transitions to the 3-3-5 defensive structure that Campbell and Heacock ran for a decade in Ames.
If that’s the case, it will require different personnel up front than Penn State recruited under Franklin. So, while Washington and other players in the secondary may depart, the defensive line will be the most interesting area to watch in this offseason’s transfer portal cycle.