Penn State’s secondary is taking another hit ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl, and this one stings.
Starting cornerback A.J. Harris is officially off the Nittany Lions’ roster and plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens on January 2. That means Penn State will be down yet another key piece in the defensive backfield when it lines up against Clemson at Yankee Stadium.
Harris was no small contributor this season. He logged 493 snaps at corner-second-most on the team-and brought a steady presence to the back end of the defense.
The junior racked up 33 tackles, including one for loss, added a pass breakup, and recovered a fumble. He wasn’t just filling a spot-he was a reliable part of a defense that leaned heavily on experience in big moments.
Over the last two seasons, Harris appeared in 27 games and built a solid résumé in the Big Ten. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors in 2025 after being named third-team all-conference the year before. That kind of production and consistency doesn’t grow on trees, and his absence leaves a significant void, especially with the bowl game just days away.
This isn’t an isolated case either. Harris joins a growing list of Penn State players who won’t suit up for the Pinstripe Bowl, and the secondary is quickly becoming a position of concern. Depth is thinning, and with Clemson’s offense on the other side, that’s not the kind of storyline you want heading into bowl week.
For Clemson fans, Harris is a familiar name. The former five-star recruit was a hot commodity in the 2023 cycle, and the Tigers were one of his finalists before he committed to Georgia. After a stint with the Bulldogs, Harris transferred to Penn State and wasted no time securing a starting role.
Now, with Harris moving on, Penn State will have to lean on its younger defensive backs to step up under the bright lights in the Bronx. That’s a tough ask against a Clemson team that’s known how to exploit mismatches in the secondary.
As we inch closer to kickoff, roster shakeups like this one are shaping the narrative for both teams. The Pinstripe Bowl is still on the calendar-but the rosters we saw in September look a whole lot different than what we’ll see at Yankee Stadium.