Whether the NIL price was too high or they weren’t interested in heading up north to the Big Ten, Penn State fell out of contention for many of the country’s top Power 4 transfer portal wide receivers this offseason. James Franklin was able to land Kyron Hudson from USC, but his quest to load up with skill talent for Drew Allar’s senior year has led him to three elite G5 playmakers who could call Happy Valley their new college football home.
FIU transfer Eric Rivers was one of the program’s initial targets. Rivers took a visit to Penn State, but the 1,000-yard receiver committed to Georgia Tech, replacing Eric Singleton Jr. the portal’s top receiver who is transferring away from Brent Key’s program. After Rivers, Ball State receiver Justin Bowick visited Happy Valley as he decides between the Nittany Lions, Louisville, Kentucky, and a host of other interested P4 programs. Even with Bowick still on the radar, Franklin and wide receivers coach Marques Hagans may have shifted their attention to Devonte Ross, who they brought to campus just days before hosting SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The Troy transfer posted a 1,000-yard receiving season with 11 touchdowns as a junior in 2024. At 5-foot-11 he’s an effective deep threat, catching 10 of 22 targets over 20 yards downfield and hauling in five of his 11 contest catch opportunities, though, he’s best after the catch. In 2024, by far his best statistical season, Ross averaged over 10 yards after the catch on targets behind the line of scrimmage and was ninth among wide receivers in the country with 8.5 yards per reception on screens.
Andy Kotelnicki doesn’t have Allar throw many screens, just 39 all season, and they’ve never been a big feature of his offense. However, this season, Penn State hasn’t had any reliable playmakers that Kotelnicki and Allar would want to get the ball in the hands of quickly, other than Tyler Warren and their running backs. He’s averaging 7.1 yards per attempt on screen passes, but he has attempted just three screens to wide receivers all year and they’ve gone for a total of eight yards. Ross would provide an element of yards after the catch that Allar and the Kotelnicki offense desperately need to reach another level of efficiency in 2025.
Once Franklin landed Hudson, a physical contested-catch winner, Bowick’s skillset at 6-foot-4 became a bit redundant. Ross, however, would be a unique player in the Penn State locker room and would make Allar’s life easier, which is the entire purpose of this portal cycle while the national championship window is still open.