The NCAA Transfer Portal’s spring window closed April 25, though the maneuvering is far from over. Penn State continues to pursue talent from the portal as the 2025 season draws closer. As usual, the Nittany Lions weren’t overly active in the portal during the spring window, which is how James Franklin prefers to operate.
Still, the Nittany Lions lost several players and have onboarded one (so far) from the spring portal window. And they’re likely not finished. Here’s a look at where Penn State football stands in the transfer portal.
What’s happening at linebacker?
Franklin loves to make recruiting pitches from the Beaver Stadium media room. Often, he’ll do so after games, when recruits are watching his press conference from the lounge above. But following the Blue-White Game, Franklin made a live video pitch to prospective linebackers.
“We’re not a big portal team, but we’re going to have to address some issues,” Franklin said after the Blue-White Game. “So if there is a linebacker out there that wants to come and be a part of our program and play for for ‘LBU,’ the most historic linebacker program in the history of college football, there’s an opportunity here to join the room and compete. So we will look at that.”
The comment wasn’t generalized. Penn State actively is talking with linebackers in the transfer portal and reportedly is hosting one for a visit. Mohamed Toure, an All-Big Ten linebacker at Rutgers in 2023, made a trip to State College after entering the portal, according to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz and Brian Dohn. Toure is an intriguing linebacker prospect with a cautionary history.
Toure, whose brother Vaboue plays safety for Penn State, was an honorable mention All-Big Ten linebacker for the Scarlet Knights in 2023, when he led the team in tackles for loss (9.5) and sacks (4.5) and placed second in tackles (93).
Toure entered the 2024 season as a preseason Butkus Award candidate and a second-year Rutgers captain but did not play after sustaining a torn ACL during the preseason. He entered the transfer portal on the final day it was open.
Toure (6-2, 236 pounds) would be participating in his seventh season of college football. He spent six years at Rutgers dating to 2019, when he redshirted after playing two games. Following the Covid year of 2020, Toure did not play in 2022, also because of a torn ACL.
Outside of 2020, Toure really has played two seasons of college football, including the 2021 campaign when he started five games on Rutgers’ defensive line. He made eight tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks that season.
“Mo and I have a special relationship,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said after the Scarlet Knights’ spring game. “I love the guy, but he’s gone another direction.”
Penn State’s key losses of the spring portal window
Of the five Penn State players who entered the portal during the spring window, the biggest losses came at linebacker and offensive guard. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson already has announced his transfer to USC.
After the Blue-White Game, Franklin said that the team had lost a linebacker “we did not anticipate losing,” a clear reference to Robinson. As a result, Franklin made his pitch to linebacker prospects in the portal.
Sixth-year guard JB Nelson was the other key loss. Nelson played guard and tackle for the Nittany Lions, started eight games in 2023 and rotated significantly on the line in 2024. He would have been a key player on the line for this season. Instead, Nelson is headed to Kansas State for his final season
Penn State’s key pickup of the spring window
In fact, he is Penn State’s only inbound transfer of the spring window so far. Former Syracuse receiver Trebor Pena, who led the ACC with 84 receptions this season, announced his transfer decision just before Blue-White kickoff. Pena is the third receiver to transfer to Penn State during the offseason, as the Nittany Lions replace the three receivers (including former starters Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans) who entered the portal.
Pena likely projects as a slot receiver in Penn State’s offense, giving quarterback Drew Allar a reliable target who can catch at volume. Pena also returned punts, averaging 8 yards per attempt for the Orange last season.
Penn State’s transfer portal surprise
The Nittany Lions finished spring practice with six scholarship running backs, the same number with which they began. One more running back, Jabree Wallace-Coleman from Philadelphia’s Imhotep Charter, is scheduled to enroll this summer. If nothing else changes, Penn State will begin training camp for the 2025 season with seven scholarship running backs.
Franklin likes depth at the position and plans to play three running backs, but the position room nevertheless is crowded. Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen will share 90 percent of the carries, with the No. 3 back rotating situationally. New Penn State running backs coach Stan Drayton must have made a strong impression, because that’s an impressive retention rate.
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