Since Notre Dame knocked Penn State out of the College Football Playoff in the Orange Bowl semifinals, Penn State has had a chaotic five-day transfer portal window. The portal, which is closed for the rest of the country, reopened for James Franklin’s roster, facilitating plenty of movement and so has a reunion with former Penn State defensive back King Mack.
Mack spent last season at Alabama after playing his freshman year in Happy Valley, but now he’s back. Mack will likely play a key role in the secondary replacing Jaylen Reed and Kevin Winston Jr. for Penn State’s new defensive coordinator after Tom Allen departed the program for Clemson.
With the former four-star recruit likely climbing to the top of the depth chart, safety Tyrece Mills has left the program and entered the transfer portal. Mills played 89 defensive snaps for Penn State in 2024 and was primarily a contributor on special teams across 13 games. Mills recorded the first interception of his career in Penn State's Fiesta Bowl win over Boise State. This past season was his third in Happy Valley after beginning his collegiate career at Lackawanna Community College.
Along with Mehki Flowers and Cam Miller, Mills is the third defensive back to enter the transfer portal. The Nittany Lions are also losing veteran cornerback Jalen Kimber to the NFL draft after the Florida transfer exhausted his final year of eligibility. Crucially, with so much movement in the secondary, redshirt junior safety Zakee Wheatley is returning for his senior season after breakout performance in the College Football Playoff.
Wheatley recorded a career-high 16 tackles in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame with an interception, his second in as many games. For the season, Wheatley posted 95 tackles three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. He will be leaned on heavily in 2025 alongside Mack, rising sophomore Dejuan Lane, and cornerbacks AJ Harris and Zion Tracy.