Penn State newcomers ready for Beaver Stadium debut; see their numbers, spring progress, and more

Penn State will finish spring practice on Saturday at Beaver Stadium when it holds the 2023 Blue-White game. A traditional scrimmage format is expected starting at 2 p.m. And, while many of the players on the field will be familiar faces, fans will also get to see numerous newcomers in pads inside of the 107,000-seat venue for the first time.

We put together a guide so you can easily find all of them once the action begins.

Penn State newcomers via the transfer portal

Four transfers enrolled back in January.

CB Storm Duck

Duck came to Penn State after earning second-team All-ACC honors at North Carolina. He is expected to be in the team’s top three cornerbacks by the end of preseason camp.

Height/weight: 6-foot, 195 pounds

Jersey number: 29

Stats at North Carolina: Duck amassed 103 tackles, five interceptions, and 15 passes defended over four seasons and 29 games with the Tar Heels.

Quotable: “I think Storm is a guy that’s got tremendous maturity. He knows how to practice. He’s really earned everybody’s respect by kind of how he’s gone about his business right away.” —PSU coach James Franklin

Receiver Malik McClain

McClain comes to Penn State after spending time at Florida State. He spent the spring working to grow his knowledge of the playbook and build a rapport with the Lions’ quarterbacks.

Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 202 pounds

Jersey number: 11

Stats at Florida State: McClain hauled in 33 passes for 396 yards and five touchdowns over two seasons and 24 games with the Seminoles.

Quotable: “Obviously he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s competitive. He’s been very competitive in winter workouts and has been very competitive out here. Those are the things that have stood out at this stage. As I think he gets more comfortable, he’ll have a chance to take the next step. Just his combination of speed, size and competitiveness is probably the thing that jumps out to me.” — PSU coach James Franklin

Kicker Alex Felkins

Felkins is making the jump to FBS competition for the first time after a strong start to his career at Columbia.

Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 198 pounds

Jersey number: 91

Stats at Columbia: A first-team All-Ivy League selection in 2022, Felkins has made 36 of 54 career field goals and also has numerous 50-yard-plus makes to his name. He has been nearly perfect on extra point tries, as well.

Punter Riley Thompson

Thompson is the rare 26-year-old second-year college football player. He spent a year at Florida Atlantic after coming to the United States from Australia. He was named to The Athletic’s and College Football News’ Freshman All-American teams.

Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 216 pounds

Jersey number: 95

Stats at FAU: Thompson averaged 45.4 yards per boot over 61 attempts for the Owls last season. Fifteen of his punts traveled 50 yards or more. And, 26 of his attempts landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard-line.

Penn State newcomers on offense

Six of the Lions’ 11 January enrollees from the Class of 2023 play offense.

TE Mega Barnwell

Barnwell is one of the biggest players Penn State signed in the last recruiting cycle. He starts his career at tight end. But, nature may eventually make him an offensive or defensive lineman.

Height/weight: 6-foot-6, 269 pounds

Jersey number: 85

Quotable: “He could be one of those kind of exceptions where he’s just a massive tight end, maybe more of a true Y. We’ll see how that plays out. But he is big. He did have an injury early on when he first got here, which I actually also think limited some of his training and development in terms of putting on muscle. So I think he’s going to continue to grow.” —PSU coach James Franklin

OL Alex Birchmeier

The second-highest ranked signee in the On3 Industry Rankings, Birchmeier is starting his career at tackle but could one day move inside.

Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 292 pounds

Jersey number: 63

Quotable: “I think Birch could play center, guard or tackle based on where our roster is right now. Birchmeier is bigger than people realize. He’s 6’5″-5, bigger than what people realize.” —PSU coach James Franklin

OL Anthony Donkoh

Donkoh was a three-star recruit out of Aldie, Va. He brings possible position versatility to State College but likely projects at guard long term.

Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 321 pounds

Jersey number: 68

Quotable: “We probably are going to leave Donkoh at guard and let him kind of stay there.” —PSU coach James Franklin

TE Joey Schlaffer

Schlaffer was ranked as a four-star in the On3 Industry Rankings and is a member of the On300 as one of the top players in the Class of 2023.

Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 227 pounds

Jersey number: 18

Quotable: “I thought Schlaffer showed a lot as a senior. The guy can obviously run and he’s got a pretty big frame. He was productive lining up at receiver. He’s going to have to continue adding weight and getting bigger to be an all-around, in-line tight end, but the athleticism and receiving ability is pretty impressive. He does a lot of different stuff, too. He’s just a good overall athlete, and that’s pretty apparent.” —On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power.

QB Jaxon Smolik

An Elite 11 participant, Smolik rose the recruiting rankings quickly as a senior. He finished as a three-star. A former Tulane commt, he is one of just three scholarship quarterbacks on the Penn State roster.

Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 205 pounds

Jersey number: 14

Quotable: “He’s still trying to get a grasp on the offense. And, I think he’s better when he hits the field. And when he was executing in practices one through three, I haven’t looked at day four yet, but one through three, you could see that he’s a guy that, when he’s on the field, he sees it, and he gets it, and he has really good vision. That’s a really important trait to have as a quarterback.” —PSU OC Mike Yurcich

Penn State newcomers on defense

Five of the programs January enrollees from the Class of 2023 play defense.

CB Lamont Payne Jr.

Payne Jr., is an On3 Industry Ranking three-star out of Bridgeville, Pa., Chartiers Valley.

Height/weight: 6-foot, 196 pounds

Jersey number: 27

LB Ta’Mere Robinson

An injury forced Robinson to miss all of his senior high school season. He has picked things up quickly now that he’s healthy and at Penn State, though. He was a four-star prospect.

Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 237 pounds

Jersey number: 24

Quotable: “For Ta’Mere, a huge part of it is just the confidence. I think we all forget, he hasn’t played football in a year. I literally was at his first game of the year when he got hurt. He didn’t play again the rest of the year. So him getting out here playing, I think it’s been really valuable for his confidence.” —PSU head coach James Franklin.

LB Tony Rojas

The Virginia Gatorade high school football player of the year in 2022, Rojas was a four-star recruit who shined on both sides of the ball at the prep level. He has quicky turned heads on defense at Penn State during spring practice.

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 214 pounds

Jersey number: 13

Quotable: “I think he processes well for a young kid and he’s got great athletic ability,” said Collins. “He has a knack to make plays in space and he has the athletic ability, the short-area quickness and the ability to turn and run. I think he’s a great space player. I think part of that is his time at running back. He has the vision off of that, so he’s naturally handled space better. Sometimes guys that have been on the line struggle with that a little bit, but not [him] at all.” —PSU outside linebackers coach Stacy Collins.

CB Zion Tracy

A three-star recruit from Hempstead, N.Y., Tracy comes to Penn State after playing at St. Thomas More in Connecticut.

Height/weight: 5-foot-11, 176 pounds

Jersey number: 12

CB Elliot Washington II

A former Alabama commit, Washington II was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023 and comes to Penn State as a member of the On300.

Height/weight: 5-foot-11, 201 pounds

Jersey number: 16

Quoatable: “Elliot is one of the more physical and stronger guys. And, he’s also fast. So, he doesn’t really get beat a lot at all.”–PSU receiver Omari Evans.