Penn State OL Golden Israel-Achumba, RB London Montgomery enter NCAA Transfer Portal

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•05/02/24

The transfer portal entries are coming fast and furious from the Penn State Nittany Lions football program. On Thursday, several players, including running back London Montgomery and offensive lineman Golden Israel-Achumba, opted to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Neither player saw the field during their respective stays at Penn State.

Israel-Achumba made his way to Happy Valley back in 2020 after committing to the Nittany Lions in 2019. He played his high school ball at the Martha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD, where he was a three-star recruit with an 88.6 rating. In the 2020 recruiting cycle, Israel-Achumba was ranked No. 438 nationally, No. 23 among interior offensive linemen, and No. 18 out of the state of Maryland, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Montgomery has not been on campus as long, joining the Penn State program as part of their 2023 recruiting class out of Scranton, PA. The redshirt freshman running back was a three-star recruit with an 88.3 recruiting rating and was ranked No. 513 nationally, No. 36 at running back, and the 9th-best player from Pennsylvania.

Penn State defensive back King Mack also enters the portal

Nittany Lions safety King Mack also entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

After spending just one season with the team, Mack exits from the Nittany Lions program. He appeared in all 13 games last year in his true freshman season, where he registered three tackles and one quarterback hurry—primarily serving as a special teams contributor and a reserve safety for Penn State.

He was a highly touted high school prospect, regarded as one of the best defensive backs in the nation after helping lead his high school team to three straight state championship wins. He was named an All-State player and the 3M Defensive Player of the Year twice in high school, with 127 tackles, eight interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), five forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries in his final two prep seasons.

Mack played high school football at  St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale (FL) where he was a four-star prospect—ranked the No. 93 overall recruit and the No. 8 safety in the 2023 cycle, according to On3’s Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.