Penn State landed two of the nation's top 30 transfer portal players, ESPN says
Penn State football is set to have new transfers on its roster ahead of the 2023 season. Four of them are already on campus. And, two of them are among ESPN’s top 30 players who entered the portal only to find a new college football home.
Former All-ACC cornerback Storm Duck, who left North Carolina in December before enrolling with the Lions in January, checks in at No. 14. The new Penn State defender is said to have brought a ‘businesslike approach’ to State College. He will battle for the open starting cornerback job opposite of Pro Football Focus preseason All-American Kalen King.
“The Nittany Lions are losing cornerback Joey Porter Jr., to the NFL, so helping fill that void with Duck will give the defense some consistency through the 2023 season,” ESPN’s Tom VanHaareen writes. “The staff is returning Kalen King, who had a good season, and has some younger players in the secondary. Adding Duck will give those younger players more time to develop and give the Penn State defense another good option in the secondary.”
The other new Nittany Lion on the list is Dante Cephas. The receiver is finishing his academic coursework at Kent State and will join Penn State this summer. ESPN puts him at No. 30 overall.
“This is a great get for Penn State, which will need offensive playmakers next season when quarterback Drew Allar takes over,” VanHaaren writes. “The staff is going to lose the team’s top two receivers in Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, so adding Cephas’ production was a huge deal. With Allar and running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, he should give the Nittany Lions a potent offense next season.”
Penn State is welcoming three other transfers, as well
Three other newcomers via the transfer portal are already at Penn State. Receiver Malik McClain joins the Lions from Florida State. He has already impressed his teammates and coaches despite only being on campus for about a month ahead of spring practice, which starts next Tuesday.
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“One thing you notice about Malik is, he loves the smile,” first-year receivers coach Marques Hagans said. “He’s always in a good mood. He brings a really good personality to the group. And I think he’s eager to learn and wants to show improve and work. So I think he’s a great addition to the group. He’s coming in and just kind of asked, like, ‘how can I get to work? What can I do? What can I learn?’”
The other Penn State newcomers are specialists. Freshman All-American Riley Thompson will compete for the punting job after a successful season at FAU. Alex Felkins, then, is a walk-on addition. The kicker was an All-Ivy League selection at Columbia.
“We’ve brought some guys into the transfer portal who haven’t played significant roles, have been more complimentary pieces to the current room and we’ve brought some guys in that have come in and started and been able to make an impact,” Penn State coach James Franklin said in February. “So I think the biggest thing is being transparent with your guys in your current program because ultimately, you want to do right by the guys in your program.
“But to me, we also have responsibility to all of the guys on the team and all of the positions to go out and try to bring as much talent in as we possibly can. Iron sharpens iron; or practice every single day is going to put us in the best position to achieve our goals.”
