Penn State adds coveted All-ACC cornerback via transfer
Penn State has made a splash in the transfer portal. Announcing his decision Wednesday afternoon, North Carolina transfer cornerback Storm Duck has committed to play for Penn State.
Duck has played four seasons at North Carolina, redshirting due to injury in 2020, and will have two years to play his final year of eligibility with the Nittany Lions. He was considered among the top defensive backs available in the portal according to On3’s Mike Huguenin. Duck is also ranked as the No. 11 overall transfer this cycle.
At UNC, he was listed as 6-feet-3/4-inch, weighing 200 pounds.
Storm Duck scouting report
Duck was a multi-year starter with the Tarheels, appearing in all 13 games as a true freshman out of Boiling Springs High School in South Carolina. In that 2019 debut, he had nine starts and had five passes broken up and two interceptions.
Duck followed the effort as a starter for the Tarheels in the 2020 season but was injured in the second game, missing the final 10 games of the campaign as a result.
Bouncing back in 2021, Duck returned to action in six games, making 16 tackles on the season. In the process, he set himself up for a 2022 season that proved to be his best at North Carolina.
He finished playing in 12 games, making 46 tackles including a tackle for a loss. And, his three interceptions, 12 passes defended and a forced fumble stuffed the stat sheet for the Tarheels. For the effort, he was named Second-Team All-ACC.
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Next steps
Duck will join a Penn State cornerbacks room that has been prolific under the direction of Terry Smith. Set to send a fifth prospect into the NFL with Joey Porter Jr. this offseason, the Nittany Lions will once again be loaded with talent with the addition of Duck.
“Proof is in the pudding,” Smith said Wednesday. “When you even talk Zechariah McPherson, I think we’ve had a corner drafted the last four or five drafts. Joey will keep that running. Kalen, whenever he decides to take that move, he’ll be the next one. It’s hard to say there’s a DB coach that can say that across the country with consecutive (picks).
“But we just got good kids here. They listen and pay attention and they lock in and they play hard. They’re good athletes. We have good coaches and the system behind Manny Diaz is a little more corner friendly, and I think it showed this year in the way we played.”
So, Duck is the first major portal addition of the offseason cycle for the Nittany Lions. He’s the second scholarship commitment, joining Florida Atlantic punter Riley Thompson.
