Penn State’s top player in the transfer portal could be heading to the SEC

When asked about the state of his roster after Penn State’s Blue-White Game, James Franklin wasn’t concerned about getting it down to 85 scholarship players. He also seemed to anticipate a few players leaving through the transfer portal in the spring window. 

Well, on Thursday, it was reported that five players off Penn State’s roster entered the transfer portal, a move made on the final day before the portal closed on May 1. The headliner of the group was Penn State’s most highly-rated defensive player from the 2023 high school class, former four-star safety King Mack. 

The rest of the departures included Malik McClain, London Montgomery, Golden Israel-Achumba, and David Kency Jr. The news brought Penn State’s total spring portal entrants to eight. 

Despite the number of last-minute decisions to leave the program, Mack is the only player who appeared to be an important piece of the team’s future. Clearly a talented player, he’d likely be stuck behind Jaylen Reed as the primary nickel defender and only saw 70 total defensive snaps last season, so Mack is looking to avoid the logjam and get on the field soon. 

The Fort Lauderdale native is heading back south for his first visit, spending the weekend in Tuscaloosa Alabama with Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide. 

No, this isn’t Nick Saban poaching a defensive back, his positional specialty, and a sure sign you can’t let that player out of your building, but Saban’s successor being interested demonstrates the magnitude of this loss for the Nittany Lions. 

There have not been other reports about potential landing spots for Mack, so this could be an easy portal victory for DeBoer, who is putting the finishing touches on his first roster at Alabama.