Penn State football officially welcomes midyear enrollees ahead of 2024 season
Penn State football officially announced its midyear enrollees on Thursday night now that the spring semester is underway. Some are additions via the transfer portal as the Nittany Lions sought to add talent at multiple positions ahead of spring practice. Others are walk-ons from the high school ranks in the Class of 2024.
The transfer newcomers include:
- Wide receiver Julian Fleming (Ohio State)
- Offensive tackle Nolan Rucci (Wisconsin)
- Kicker Chase Meyer (Tulsa)
- Defensive lineman Jordan Mayer (Wisconsin)
- Cornerback A.J. Harris (Georgia)
- Cornerback Jalen Kimber (Florida)
The list of Class of 2024 walk-ons who enrolled early at Penn State include:
- Long snapper Andrew Default (Westwood, Mass.). He stands 6-foot-1, 250 pounds and was picked as an All-American by Kohls Kicking Camps for his work at the prep level. He committed to the Lions in August.
- Linebacker Beckham Dee (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.). He is listed at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, and picked Penn State in December after receiving a preferred walk-on offer earlier this year.
- Wide receiver Logan Cunningham is from Belle Vernon. He played at Division-III Marieta College in 2022 but is listed with freshman eligibility.
More on the Penn State transfer newcomers
Harris and Kimber were the final additions to a portal class that previously featured Fleming, Rucci, Mayer, and Meyer. Both former SEC cornerbacks started classes this week despite not making any public announcement about their plans until Thursday.
Meyer, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound junior, made 30 of 31 PATs and 17 of 20 field goals for Tulsa in 2023. He started his college career at Penn. He has multiple seasons of eligibility remaining at Penn State.
Mayer, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound redshirt freshman, has four years to play four after redshirting during his one and only season with the Badgers in 2023.
Rucci, a 6-foot-8, 300-pound former Pa., five-star out of Warwick and redshirt junior, went to Wisconsin in the Class of 2020 but totaled 70 just snaps at offensive tackle during his time with the Badgers. He will look to battle for playing time as the Lions look to replace both starting offensive tackles in 2024.
Fleming, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior, has one year of eligibility left. He finished his time in Columbus with 79 catches for 963 yards and seven touchdowns.
Harris, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound sophomore and former top-100 recruit in the Class of 2023, spent only a single season at Georgia. He played enough to burn his redshirt throughout the first two months of the season. But, he did not play in November and hit the portal in December.
Kimber, a 6-foot, 185-pound redshirt senior, started his college career at Georgia in 2020 before moving onto Florida before the 2022 season. The Texas native played in 26 games over two seasons in Gainesville, finishing with 39 tackles, one interception, and six passes defended, which was powered by a team-high five in 2023. His 2022 season was impacted by an injury he played through.
