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BWI Live: Penn State Roster Reset | Looking at Positional Strengths for 2025

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•01/29/25•

ThomasFrankCarr

While nothing is ever settled in the shifting sands of college football, we can reasonably assume that the Penn State roster is mostly set for the spring semester and spring football season. On today’s show, we’ll review the final numbers on the transfer portal for the Nittany Lions. The team officially announced the additions earlier this month, and all but one of its existing players have chosen a new home. Join the BWI Live Show to discuss what the roster looks like on the other side of those moves.

Reporter Greg Pickel joins the show to take you through the team’s strongest and weakest positions as we reset the Penn State roster for 2025. We’ll also dive deeper into the team’s transition to defense under new coordinator Jim Knowles and what changes he could bring to the team for the coming season.

Penn State roster reset

Of course, the main story for all Penn State fans is about new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. The program released a clip of Knowles addressing the team on social media yesterday, and Pickel will discuss the news surrounding it.

From there, we’ll transition to the other additions and subtractions from the roster this offseason. Former Penn State safety Tyrece Mills announced his new college destination this week. With that, only one former player in the portal has yet to find a home for the upcoming season.

Next, we’ll review the announcement from the program last week about the team’s newest members. Penn State announced new weights for the incoming transfers, some of which raised eyebrows about the jumps in size from their previously listed size measurements. We’ll discuss what that could mean for the team’s needs this fall.

Strengths and weaknesses

While there’s still time for players to arrive and leave in the spring portal window – and you can never count out a lawsuit against the NCAA – we’re considering the roster set for the upcoming semester. Which positions look the strongest on paper? We’ll review where the team can build its identity during spring football. Next, we’ll look at the positions that need to be developed and take a step toward Penn State finding balance and a well-rounded attack next season.

Jim Knowles’s defensive breakdown

Finally, we’ll use the final show segment to discuss what we’ve learned at Blue White Illustrated about Knowles’s defense and what changes he might bring to the program. After studying his defense at Ohio State, listening to virtual clinics, and reading into the data, we’ve got an early sketch of some differences in how the new head man on defense operates.

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