Penn State offers dynamic return specialist Jaylin Lucas
Former Indiana running back/return specialist Jaylin Lucas entered the Transfer Portal on Wednesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon, he held a Penn State offer. The Nittany Lions were the first program to do so, according to Lucas.
The 2022 winner of the Big Ten’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, Lucas was a First-Team All-American as a returner by several outlets last season as a true freshman. He has been one of the most dynamic special teams players in the country over his two seasons in Bloomington. Lucas has three career kickoffs returned for touchdowns, including a 100-yarder against Purdue in the final game of the season.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Lucas averaged 26 yards per kick return in 2023 after averaging 28.1 yards per return as a freshman in 2022. He also added 34 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver and carried 67 times for 275 yards and two scores as a running back. Should Lucas opt not to return to Bloomington, he will have finished his two-year Hoosier career with 2,052 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns. He found the end zone against Penn State in 2022.
The Houma, Louisiana native has two years remaining at his next destination. Penn State offered Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley on Wednesday evening.
Track Penn State transfer portal activity
The NCAA transfer portal database is private, but Blue-White Illustrated and the On3 Network have you covered from start to finish when it comes to tracking Penn State’s player movement.
Our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways. We have articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal, a dedicated transfer portal Twitter account and the On3 Transfer Portalwire.
The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal rankings, their original On3 Consensus recruiting rankings, plus NIL valuation.
While the transfer portal officially opened for business Monday, Dec. 4, for undergraduate players, grad transfers and those who went through a coaching change have been available to contact. Schools have also been allowed to contact players from FCS and Division II programs.
This specific transfer portal window runs through Jan. 2, 2024, but it is important to note that a player doesn’t have to make his decision by that deadline. They just have to declare their intent to enter the portal by then. When they pick their next school or decide to return to their current one is up to them. A second transfer portal window will run following spring practice, April 15-30.
