Penn State lands top WR target and sticks it to Mario Cristobal at the same time

You can go ahead and consider this a massive recruiting win for Penn State football and head man James Franklin. Earlier this offseason, Syracuse slot receiver Trebor Pena surprised plenty of people when he entered the transfer portal.

The Nittany Lions wasted no time showing interest and quickly got him on campus for an official visit. They weren't the only ones high on him, however, as Miami, USC, UCLA and others were hoping to land his signature. There was plenty of buzz the Hurricanes were going all-in to land him for Carson Beck.

In some rough news for Mario Cristobal, which Nittany Lions fans don't care about, Pena has decided to play elsewhere. That's right, the breaking news just came in that the stud slot receiver has pledged to Penn State and Franklin. Boom:

Star transfer WR Trebor Pena has committed to Penn State over Miami and others

Let's be real here, this is a huge get for Franklin and the Nittany Lions. Pena was downright sensational for the Orange last season, hauling in 84 balls for 941 yards and nine touchdowns. There was a reason so many top programs were going after him.

In addition to Miami, there was a bit of a worry that UCLA would be able to turn his head too, as the Bruins just signed Nico Iamaleava, who transferred in from Tennessee. Despite all of the outside interest, Franklin and his coaching staff kept going after Pena hard and the hard work paid off on Saturday.

Looking ahead to next season, Drew Allar is poised to have a monster fall for this team and his job was just made a lot easier with a player of Pena's caliber joining the fold. He'll look to be a difference-maker as soon as Week 1 gets here for Penn State. He's an exciting talent and one who will give plenty of Big Ten defensive backs all sorts of problems.