Following Penn State in the transfer portal
Last season, James Franklin added six players through the transfer portal, and his program’s offseason philosophy typically centers more around talent retention than acquisition. However, after Penn State was awarded the No. 6 seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff after an 11-2 season, Franklin told reporters that Penn State would have an aggressive approach to the portal.
With the season (hopefully) far from over, the Nittany Lions are unlikely to see many portal departures until the portal window reopens to the team after it's eliminated (or finishes the year in the national title game). However, a few players have jumped in early and Franklin and his staff are already targeting potential upgrades to their 2025 roster.
Here’s a look at Penn State’s 2025 transfer portal activity.
Recent transfer portal activity:
- Monday, December 16: USC transfer wide receiver Kyron Hudson commits to Penn State
- Sunday, December 15: Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula enters transfer portal, will not play in College Football Playoff
- Friday, December 14: Penn State is reportedly set to host Texas A&M defensive end Enai White, a former Philadelphia four-star
Full list of incoming transfers:
- Kyron Hudson, WR, USC, 6’1 205 lbs Eligibility: 1 yl
Full list of outgoing transfers:
- Jerry Cross, TE, redshirt sophomore, 6’5” 254 lbs
- T.A. Cunningham, DL, freshman, 6’5” 285 lbs
- Beau Pribula, QB, redshirt sophomore 6’2” 207lbs
Key transfer portal targets:
Penn State’s most important positions of need in the transfer portal this offseason are wide receiver, defensive line, and cornerback. The pressure is on Franklin to provide his offense with more playmaking talent after last season’s portal addition, Julian Fleming, didn’t provide much impact.
These are players that Penn State should target, and players that Penn State has reportedly been in contact with. * indicates reported connection.
WR:
- *Eric Rivers, WR, FIU, 5’11” 174 lbs Eligibility: 1 yl
- *Justin Bowick, WR, Ball State,6’4” 199 lbs Eligibility: 2 yl
CB:
- Julian Humphrey, CB, Georgia, 6’1” 195 lbs Eligibility: 2 yl
- Ethan O’Connor, CB, Washington State, 6’1” 175 lbs Eligibility: 3 yl
- Theran Johnson, CB, Northwestern, 5’11” 182 lbs 3 yl
DL:
- *Enai White, DE, Texas A&M, 6’5” 245 lbs Eligibility: 2 yl
- *Bear Alexander, DL, USC, 6’3” 315 lbs Eligibility: 2 yl