As Penn State continues search for right portal fits, receiver target Eric Rivers goes off the board to Georgia Tech
Penn State football is out of the running for former FIU receiver Eric Rivers. He committed to Georiga Tech on Wednesday night before making it to State College for a visit this weekend.
Rivers, who hails from Chatanooga, Tenn., was highly productive in 2024. He caught 62 passes for 1,172 yards and 12 touchdowns. Over two seasons with the Panthers, he totaled 94 receptions for 1,515 yards and 14 touchdowns. Before that, the receiver spent two seasons at Memphis. On3 calls him the No. 31 player in the portal and the No. 11 receiver. Other schools in the mix to land the 5-foot-11, 174-pound pass catcher included Miami, Nebraska, and Colorado, among others.
More: A Penn State transfer prediction; Nittany Lions host top linebacker
On Wednesday night, Lions coach James Franklin explained his program’s portal philosophy.
“We want to be very selective and strategic about who we bring in and what their role is going to be, and why,” he said. “And to me, we look at it from a lot of different levels. Is this a good opportunity for them? And does it also make sense for us and our roster? So trying to take all those things into account.
“Obviously, the success that we’ve had makes us attractive to a lot of young men out there that want to play at this level and want to play in these types of games. And then obviously, being able to have guys like Tyler Warren and Abdul Carter and so on and so forth, that are up for awards and All-Americans, and things like that, those things help too. So it’s an attractive option, but we’re very strategic about who we who we get involved with, and who we bring in.”
Penn State has landed a receiver already in this transfer portal cycle
Penn State is looking to be “aggressive” in the transfer portal ahead of the 2025 season. One position it has focused on is receiver. The Lions landed former USC pass catcher Kyron Hudson back on Dec. 16. Blue-White Illustrated film analyst Thomas Frank Carr offered his initial scouting thoughts on the California native here.
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Penn State was to host Rivers this weekend. However, it even with that no longer the case, it certainly is evaluating potential portal possibilities as players continue to enter the mechanism used for athletes to change schools.
BWI’s Nate Bauer took a look at the current state of and potential future for the Lions’ receivers room on Wednesday. Read that story here.
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PSU transfer portal tracker
As noted above, Hudson is the only addition to date. Three Nittany Lions are currently in the portal. Veteran tight end Jerry Cross and first-year Nittany Lion defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham both entered on Dec. 9. Neither has found a new school yet. Then, on Dec. 16, backup quarterback Beau Pribula put his name into the portal. Neither of those three will be with the team for its College Football Playoff run. Cunningham will visit California this weekend. Cross has yet to report an offer. Pribula is considering Iowa, UCF, Indiana, and Missouri, among potentially others.
The fall window transfer portal entry deadline is Dec. 28. Players do not need to pick a school by then. But, they must have their name in the portal by then.
