Transfer portal · 2026
Penn State Nittany Lions
Both windowsProjected two-deep impacti
+27
Projected two-deep roles added · 2026 arrivals
Penn State added 27 transfers projected into the two-deep (13 as starters) against 47 departures whose next roles aren’t tracked here. Every number on this page is counted, not modelled — no composite portal grade is published because no defensible one exists yet.
39
Arrivals
-8
47
Departures
0.87
Avg rating in
-0.00
0.87
Avg rating out
27
Proj two-deep in
—
—
Out roles untracked
29 of 39
’25 production in
—
27 of 47
’25 production out
How the roster changed
86 moves · 12 rooms touchediOffense-3 net players
Replaced—
QB
+3 in · −3 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
Rocco Becht in from Iowa State drives the room.
Replaced—
OL
+6 in · −6 out · 2 proj starters in
InOut
Trevor Buhr in from Iowa State drives the room.
Upgraded-1 player
RB
+2 in · −3 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
Carson Hansen in from Iowa State drives the room.
Replaced-1 player
TE
+3 in · −4 out
InOut
Gabe Burkle in from Iowa State drives the room.
Upgraded-1 player
WR
+5 in · −6 out · 2 proj starters in
InOut
Chase Sowell in from Iowa State drives the room.
Defense-7 net players
Replaced—
CB
+3 in · −3 out
InOut
A.J. Harris out to Indiana drives the room.
Replaced-1 player
DL
+5 in · −6 out · 2 proj starters in
InOut
Xavier Gilliam out to Tennessee drives the room.
Upgraded-1 player
LB
+4 in · −5 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
Caleb Bacon in from Iowa State drives the room.
Upgraded-1 player
S
+4 in · −5 out · 2 proj starters in
InOut
Marcus Neal Jr. in from Iowa State drives the room.
Depth concern-4 players
EDGE
+2 in · −6 out
InOut
Chaz Coleman out to Tennessee drives the room.
Specialists+2 net players
Upgraded+1 player
K
+1 in · −0 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
No departures
Cristiano Rosa in from James Madison drives the room.
Upgraded+1 player
P
+1 in · −0 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
No departures
Nathan Tiyce in from Mississippi State drives the room.
No movement—
LS
+0 in · −0 out
InOutNo arrivalsNo departures
No portal movement in this room.
ArrivalDepartureHeavy ring · proj starter inThin ring · rotation inDotted · depth role or no ’25 recordMarker size = ’25 usage share (smallest = none recorded)
Did Penn State replace what it lost?
Role slots, not player-for-playerReplaced7 chains
QB
Starting slot
Out · to Virginia Tech
Ethan Grunkemeyer
rating 0.93 · 33% ’25 usage · 123/178 · 1,339 pass yds · 8 TD · 4 INT
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Iowa State
Rocco Becht
rating 0.94 · 45% ’25 usage · 204/337 · 2,565 pass yds · 16 TD · 9 INT · qb1 starter
Jan 4
▾ Detail
RB
Starting slot
Out · to Toledo
Corey Smith
rating 0.85 · 9% ’25 usage · 30 rush yds · 2.1 ypc
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Iowa State
Carson Hansen
rating 0.88 · 28% ’25 usage · 950 rush yds · 5.1 ypc · 6 TD · 19 rec · rb1 starter
Jan 4
▾ Detail
WR
Starting slot
Out · to Virginia Tech
Tyseer Denmark
rating 0.86 · 3% ’25 usage · 2 rec · 17 yds
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Iowa State
Chase Sowell
rating 0.93 · 9% ’25 usage · 32 rec · 500 yds · 2 TD · x1 starter
Jan 5
▾ Detail
OL
Starting slot
Out · to Florida
TJ Shanahan Jr.
rating 0.87
Replaced
Low confidence
In · from Iowa State
Trevor Buhr
rating 0.87 · lg1 starter
Jan 5
▾ Detail
DL
Starting slot
Out · to Oklahoma State
Enai White
rating 0.86 · 3 tkl · 1.5 TFL · 1 sk
Replaced
High confidence
In · from Oklahoma State
Armstrong Nnodim
rating 0.85 · 11 tkl · 2 TFL · 1 sk · ldt1 starter
Jan 6
▾ Detail
S
Starting slot
Out · to NC State
King Mack
rating 0.87 · 58 tkl · 1 TFL · 0.5 sk · 1 INT
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Iowa State
Marcus Neal Jr.
rating 0.90 · 77 tkl · 11 TFL · 1 sk · 2 INT · ss1 starter
Jan 4
▾ Detail
S
Starting slot
Out · to Tennessee
Dejuan Lane
rating 0.87 · 29 tkl · 2.5 TFL · 1 sk
Replaced
High confidence
In · from Iowa State
Jeremiah Cooper
rating 0.87 · 9 tkl · 1.5 TFL · 1 INT · fs1 starter
Jan 11
▾ Detail
Partially replaced12 chains
QB
Rotation slot
Out · to Temple
Jaxon Smolik
6% ’25 usage
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Iowa State
Alex Manske
rating 0.86 · 6% ’25 usage · qb2 rotation
Jan 4
▾ Detail
RB
Rotation slot
Out · to Nebraska
Tikey Hayes
4% ’25 usage
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Ohio State
James Peoples
rating 0.88 · 10% ’25 usage · 344 rush yds · 5.6 ypc · 3 TD · 10 rec · rb2 rotation
Jan 7
▾ Detail
TE
Rotation slot
Out · to Virginia Tech
Luke Reynolds
rating 0.94 · 5% ’25 usage · 26 rec · 257 yds
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Iowa State
Benjamin Brahmer
rating 0.94 · 6% ’25 usage · 37 rec · 446 yds · 6 TD · te2 rotation
Jan 3
▾ Detail
EDGE
Rotation slot
Out · to USC
Zuriah Fisher
rating 0.92 · 19 tkl · 3.5 TFL · 2 sk
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Iowa State
Ikenna Ezeogu
rating 0.88 · 25 tkl · 3 TFL · 1 sk · lde2 rotation
Jan 14
▾ Detail
EDGE
Rotation slot
Out · to Tennessee
Chaz Coleman
rating 0.98 · 8 tkl · 3 TFL · 1 sk
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Colorado
Alexander McPherson
rating 0.86 · 15 tkl · 0.5 TFL · 0.5 sk · rde2 rotation
Jan 6
▾ Detail
DL
Starting slot
Out · to Tennessee
Xavier Gilliam
rating 0.94 · 16 tkl · 3 TFL · 0.5 sk
Partial replacement
High confidence
In · from UCLA
Keanu Williams
rating 0.86 · 39 tkl · 1 PD · rdt1 starter
Jan 6
▾ Detail
DL
Rotation slot
Out · to Duke
Owen Wafle
rating 0.85 · 5 tkl
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from UCLA
Siale Taupaki
rating 0.87 · 15 tkl · 2 TFL · 1 sk · rdt2 rotation
Jan 9
▾ Detail
DL
Rotation slot
Out · to Delaware
Sam Siafa
rating 0.84 · 0 tkl
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Iowa State
Alijah Carnell
rating 0.86 · 6 tkl · 0.5 TFL · 0.5 sk · ldt2 rotation
Jan 5
▾ Detail
LB
Starting slot
Out · to Tennessee
Amare Campbell
rating 0.87 · 103 tkl · 9.5 TFL · 3 sk
Partial replacement
High confidence
In · from Iowa State
Kooper Ebel
rating 0.86 · 77 tkl · 8 TFL · 1 sk · mlb1 starter
Jan 5
▾ Detail
LB
Rotation slot
Out · to Virginia Tech
Keon Wylie
rating 0.87 · 28 tkl · 2.5 TFL · 1 sk
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Iowa State
Caleb Bacon
rating 0.91 · 68 tkl · 9.5 TFL · 3 sk · mlb2 rotation
Jan 4
▾ Detail
CB
Rotation slot
Out · to Indiana
A.J. Harris
rating 0.91 · 33 tkl · 1 TFL · 1 PD
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Syracuse
Ibn McDaniels
rating 0.86 · 2 tkl · nb2 rotation
Jan 9
▾ Detail
S
Rotation slot
Out · to Arizona State
Antoine Belgrave-Shorter
rating 0.86 · 14 tkl
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Iowa State
Jamison Patton
rating 0.87 · 48 tkl · 1 TFL · 2 INT · fs2 rotation
Jan 5
▾ Detail
Not replaced5 chains
TE
Production lost
Out · to Temple
Joey Schlaffer
rating 0.85 · 2% ’25 usage · 1 rec · 19 yds · 1 TD
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
1 two-deep arrival answers other losses · 2 depth arrivals in room
Jan 8
▾ Detail
EDGE
Production lost
Out · to North Carolina
Jaylen Harvey
rating 0.86 · 9 tkl · 1.5 TFL · 1 sk
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
2 two-deep arrivals answer other losses · 2 producing losses unanswered
Jan 5
▾ Detail
LB
Production lost
Out · to Purdue
Anthony Speca
rating 0.85 · 6 tkl
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
2 two-deep arrivals answer other losses · 2 depth arrivals in room · 2 producing losses unanswered
Jan 7
▾ Detail
CB
Production lost
Out · to Clemson
Elliot Washington II
rating 0.87 · 18 tkl · 1 INT · 3 PD
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
1 two-deep arrival answers other losses · 2 depth arrivals in room · 2 producing losses unanswered
Jan 5
▾ Detail
S
Production lost
Out · to Temple
Kolin Dinkins
8 tkl · 1.5 TFL
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
3 two-deep arrivals answer other losses · 1 depth arrival in room · 2 producing losses unanswered
Jan 10
▾ Detail
Quality vs experience
Portal rating
0.750.800.850.900.951.00
No ’25 usage recordHigh-upside betProven impactDevelopmentalExperienced depthBechtGrunkemeyerHansenBrahmer
0%20%40%60%
’25 usage share of previous team’s snapsets
9 unrated moves not plotted — see the ledger
How much Penn State depends on transfers
Projected 2026 two-deep · 56 slotsQuarterback100%
2
Skill (RB/WR/TE)70%
3
7
Offensive line40%
6
4
Front seven (EDGE/DL/LB)67%
4
8
Secondary (CB/S)50%
5
1
4
Specialists33%
8
4
Returning signeesPrior-cycle transfers2026 transfers
54%
Projected two-deep from transfers
30 of 56 two-deep slots
14 of 28
Projected starters from transfers
13 from the 2026 cycle, 1 held over
76th
Big Ten percentile · transfer share
5th-most transfer-dependent two-deep of 18 Big Ten teams
Returning portal corePrior-cycle transfers still in the two-deep
Audavion Collins
CB · from Mississippi State · 2023 cycle · RCB1 starter
47 tkl
’25 · Penn State
Where Penn State’s transfers came from — and where they went
Sources · 39 arrivals47 departures · destinations
Big 12
28 players
Big Ten
3 players
Non-FBS
3 players
ACC
2 players
Pac-12
1 player
SEC
1 player
Other
1 player
+
ACC
18 players
SEC
7 players
Big Ten
5 players
American Athletic
5 players
Non-FBS
4 players
Conference USA
2 players
+
Other
6 players
Penn State
-8 net moves
Arrived from · 39
Big 12
28 players
Big Ten
3 players
Non-FBS
3 players
ACC
2 players
Pac-12
1 player
SEC
1 player
+
Other
1 player
Departed to · 47
ACC
18 players
SEC
7 players
Big Ten
5 players
American Athletic
5 players
Non-FBS
4 players
Conference USA
2 players
+
Other
6 players
28arrivals came from Big 12 programs — the single largest source.
27arrivals are projected straight into the two-deep (34 of 39 arrivals came from P4 leagues).
5departures stayed inside the Big Ten.
How the window developed
Cumulative net moves · in − out1 undated move not plotted
All portal moves
86 of 86 moves match · 25 shownShow
Role in
Sort
PlayerPosDirectionOrigin / destinationRating’25 productionEligProjected roleDate
BB
Winter window · 4★
RB
Winter window · 4★
CS
Winter window · 4★
CB
Winter window · 4★
MN
Winter window · 4★
BE
Winter window · 3★
CH
Winter window · 3★
GB
Winter window · 3★
JP
Winter window · 3★
CA
Winter window · 3★
IE
Winter window · 3★
CB
Winter window · 3★
JP
Winter window · 3★
TB
Winter window · 3★
DV
Winter window · 3★