Portal Payoff: Grading Penn State's transfer additions after the 2021 regular season

The results are in for the transfer portal additions Penn State made ahead of the 2021 season.

A new era in college athletics began last offseason, when the NCAA granted its athletes a one-time transfer waiver.

James Franklin and Penn State football dove right in, making several key additions to the Nittany Lions roster.

Which of those players made a difference? Which proved disappointing?

Let’s grade the transfer portal class of 2021.

Defensive End Arnold Ebiketie: A+

Arnold Ebiketie wasn’t just a nice transfer portal add. He quickly became a fundamental piece of Penn State’s defense after transferring from Temple.

Ebiketie registered 9.5 sacks, good enough for third in the Big Ten, and 18 tackles for loss, which is fifth nationally.

Pro Football Focus gave him an 88.4 defensive grade, which is six points clear of anyone else on Penn State’s defense.

If that wasn’t enough, he blocked a pair of kicks for good measure.

It’s probable that the Nittany Lion pass rush would have struggled mightily had Ebiketie not made the move, especially with Adisa Isaac missing the season. No other Penn State player registered more than two sacks.

Defensive Tackle Derrick Tangelo: B+

We’ll stay on the defensive line for the next transfer, Derrick Tangelo, who also finds himself at the top of the class.

A transfer from Duke, Tangelo earned the right to start from day one, but an injury to PJ Mustipher halfway through the season asked him to carry more weight, and he met that necessity in stride.

Tangelo finished the regular season with 29 tackles — 5.5 of them for loss — and two sacks.

Pro Football Focus gave him a 63.4 overall defensive grade.

Cornerback AJ Lytton: C+

Florida State transfer AJ Lytton didn’t play much on defense. In fact, he saw only two snaps throughout the entire season.

But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t valuable.

Lytton played a key role on one of the best punt coverage units in the country as a gunner alongside Drew Hartlaub.

Jordan Stout will rightly receive most of the credit, but Lytton and Hartlaub certainly played their parts for a punt unit that ranked second nationally in Football Outsiders’ punt efficiency metric during the regular season.

It will be interesting to see if he can break into Penn State’s rotation on defense in 2022

Corner Johnny Dixon: C+

The verdict on South Carolina transfer Johnny Dixon seems very much up in the air at the moment.

Tariq Castro-Fields and Joey Porter Jr. entrenched themselves firmly as Penn State’s top options at corner and Daequan Hardy locked down the nickel position. As a result, we didn’t see too much of Dixon in his first year in Happy Valley.

Dixon played 161 snaps on the season. Opposing teams targeted him 16 times in coverage, and he allowed eight receptions for 56 yards. Pro Football Focus gave him a 65.9 overall defensive grade for the season.

He’ll get his opportunity to earn a starting spot moving into next season, and that will give us a firmer indication as to how this transfer panned out for Penn State.

Offensive Lineman Eric Wilson: C+

Penn State’s offensive line this season was a failure.

However, the picture may have been even bleaker without Harvard transfer Eric Wilson.

Wilson won the starting job at left guard after beginning the season in a time share with Anthony Whigan.

He certainly had his struggles, but he wasn’t totally overmatched playing for the first time in two years and making the step up from the Ivy League.

He finished the season with the second-highest offensive grade among Penn State’s starting offensive linemen at 64.6

Running Back John Lovett: D

Nothing about Penn State’s running game was positive in 2021.

The Nittany Lions brought experienced tailback John Lovett in from Baylor to provide a veteran voice to a backfield full of young players.

His impact on the field was disappointing. Lovett carried the ball 52 times for 177 yards and also caught nine passes for 36 yards.

He missed four games for the Nittany Lions as well, including two to begin the season.