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How will Penn State approach the transfer portal amid a College Football Playoff run?

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•12/08/24•

GregPickel

NCAA Football: Ohio State at Penn State
Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)

Penn State is one of 12 teams preparing to play in the College Football Playoff while also dealing with the opening of the transfer portal on Monday. For programs outside of the field, bowl game opt-outs will start tomorrow. Portal entries for teams whose season ended after 12 games will as well. The Nittany Lions already had one player, backup tight end Jerry Cross, say he plans to move on before the book is closed on the 2024 version of head coach James Franklin’s team. It’s possible that others could join him. The same could happen to other Playoff participants. It’s true, even as unlikely as it sounds, considering what is still on the line for the CFP teams.

No matter what happens internally, there is also the reality that there will be players across the sport who are looking for a new home that can either help Penn State in 2025 or potentially boost the roster of one of its opponents. Without knowing who all intends to leave the Lions after this set of games concludes, though, it goes without saying that Franklin and co., will be operating without the full picture for the duration of their portal pursuits. But, that won’t stop them from chasing talent anyway as the puzzle pieces start to be filled in.

More: Can Penn State host recruits for College Football Playoff game against SMU?

“We’re moving, and I’m pushing my staff to be very aggressive,” Franklin said Sunday. “The challenge that I don’t think a lot of people think about is, typically when your season ends, and you’re in that time getting ready for a bowl game, you have time to sit down with all of your players and find out what’s going on, who’s coming back, who’s considering going into the transfer portal, who is going into the transfer portal. And a lot of those things impact your decision-making on who you’re going to try to go out and get to replace those guys with.

“So it’s hard to come up with a plan. We’ll do that this week. But we’re probably a week behind other programs. I didn’t really want to be having those conversations last week when we were getting ready for Oregon. So, that’s a little bit of a challenge. It’s hard to totally know what you want to do in the portal until you know exactly what’s going on with your current roster for next year. But I’ve asked our staff to be aggressive and move and make some decisions in positions that we think we’re going to have some needs. So, we’ll have a better idea this week.”

Despite the challenges, Penn State most come up with a plan anyway

Some positions are more obvious ones to pursue than others. Penn State will likely lose two, if not three, of its starting safeties to the NFL. So, that’s an obvious spot where help could be needed. Receiver is a no-brainer. The Lions should also scout the defensive line and possibly linebacker, among other spots.

All told, Penn State is behind those who did not play in a conference title game. It is also working without all of the knowledge it will eventually have about its 2025 roster. But, like when it added cornerback help before the 2024 season despite seemingly being OK at the position, anytime talent can be added, it should be. And that philosophy should guide the Lions’ ‘aggressive’ approach over the days and weeks ahead.

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