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Penn State walk-on linebacker expected to enter NCAA transfer portal

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•04/16/25•

GregPickel

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Running back Beckham Dee (2024) from Pittsburgh, Pa. (Credit: Ryan Snyder | Blue White Illustrated)

A walk-on Penn State football defender is set to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Redshirt freshman linebacker Beckham Dee is moving on from the Nittany Lions after one season and one spring in State College. BWI’s Sean Fitz first reported Dee’s plan on Wednesday morning, per sources. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native who played some under PSU Director of High School Relations Bob Palko at Mt. Lebanon was the coaching staff’s Developmental Squad Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week in October last year. He joins fellow linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson, cornerback Jon Mitchell, and offensive lineman JB Nelson in leaving at the start of the spring transfer portal window.

It’s unclear if Dee’s decision to move on is tied to the pending House vs. NCAA litigation, which, if settled, could cap football rosters at 105 players, or if he simply wanted to go somewhere he could see playing time. He discussed the potential roster limit issue with BWI earlier this year.

“I think about today, about tomorrow, how I can get better, how I can help this team be better,” Dee said. “And I think that’s what all walk-ons should be thinking about. You can’t control it. So whatever happens, happens.  You’ve got to focus on the now and see how you can improve.”

Beckham committed to walk-on at Penn State in December 2023. He had a number of lower-level offers from schools like William & Mary, Richmond, Fordham, and Lehigh, among others.

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James Franklin: Penn State has covered its 105-man plan with the players

Following practice on Tuesday night, Penn State coach James Franklin was hit with a number of questions about the spring transfer portal window. One of them focused on whether or not the program must change its past approach to having evaluation meetings with players after spring ball because of the portal window opening up before the Blue-White game. In that answer, he covered another key question tied to the potential roster cap discussed above.

“Once again, it’s really kind of a, “no surprises” discussion,” Franklin said. “If the players have any issues or concerns, we want them to come in and talk to us. We’ve talked already to the team about how we’re handling the 105. That was addressed before the first window. That was addressed before this window. So everybody is on the same page. I meet with the players a lot, and there needs to be a communication, two-way street. So right now, we’re not having meetings obviously during spring ball, but there needs to be communication.”

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