After finally breaking through to the College Football Playoff semifinal, James Franklin has been one of the big winners of the offseason. Not for his big-time additions in the transfer portal, but because of the players that he’s been able to keep in Happy Valley for 2025. Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Zakee Wheatley, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and Zane Durant headline the long list of draft-eligible underclassmen returning to Penn State for their final season of eligibility.
With the House settlement likely to introduce revenue sharing across college football, fewer big-name players sprung into the transfer portal in December and January because every program can pay them, including the one they’re at. The story of this transfer portal cycle has been roster retention, and that’s largely how Ohio State assembled its loaded roster last offseason, a roster that is now one win away from a national championship.
Franklin has been as good at roster retention as any head coach in the country, but he couldn’t keep his entire team together for another run at the national championship. Players like Tyler Warren, Sal Wormley, and Jalen Kimber had no choice but to leave, having expended their final seasons of eligibility, but this group could have stayed, chose not to, and are the three biggest losses from Penn State’s 2024 roster.
After no wide receiver recorded a catch in Penn State’s Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame, James Franklin’s receiver room cleared out. Both Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans entered the transfer portal to make room for incoming transfers Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross. While Hudson and Ross are likely both upgrades, the loss of Wallace, who caught 46 passes for 720 yards and four touchdowns is significant and he’s already drawing notable Power 4 interest.
The loss of Wallace doesn’t just take Allar’s top outside target off the roster, it also threatens Penn State’s depth on the outside. The Nittany Lions could be forced to rely on Tyseer Denmark in his redshirt freshman season, or even turn to a true freshman from their promising 2025 high school class.
The No. 2 spot on this list came down to Kobe King or safety Jaylen Reed, who both have opted for the NFL with one season of eligibility remaining. While Reed led the team in tackles, King is probably tougher to replace on a defense that will be getting a new coordinator this offseason. As the middle linebacker in Tom Allen’s 4-2-5 system, King served as the “green dot” player, who had the in-helmet communication from the sidelines. Tony Rojas will be prepared to step into that role as a junior, but King’s presence will be a massive loss.
At safety, Penn State has already taken steps to fill the void left by Reed. Zakee Wheatley is returning for his final year, former four-star King Mack is back in Happy Valley after one season at Alabama, and Dejuan Lane will be prepared for a significant role in his sophomore year.
It won’t be easy to replace Wallace, King, or even Reed, but it’s impossible to replace a player like Abdul Carter. The junior defensive end, in his first season after converting from off-ball linebacker, finished sixth in the country in sacks, second in QB pressures, and seventh in pass-rush win rate. He was a dominant force, who recorded a career-high eight pressures against Notre Dame while essentially playing with one arm.
Carter will be a top-five pick in the draft and had to leave for the NFL after his monstrous season, but there’s just no way for Penn State to replace his production and the fear he struck in an opposing defense. Dennis-Sutton and Durant both returning along the defensive line helps, as does the transfer addition of Enai White from Texas A&M, but nobody is Abdul Carter.