Penn State’s roster turnover from last season has been felt all over college football, with 43 former Lions now scattered across the sport and making their mark in new places.
The biggest concentration landed with James Franklin at Virginia Tech, where a dozen former Penn State players have followed him. Another three are with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter at Tennessee, while the rest have spread out across the country.
At Virginia Tech, tight end Luke Reynolds has been one of the most productive transfers anywhere. The 6-2 Hokies have leaned on him heavily, and he’s delivered with 50 catches for 493 yards and six touchdowns.
Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer has also been efficient, completing 71 percent of his passes for 2,140 yards and 17 touchdowns. Wideout Tyseer Denmark has played in every game and has seven receptions for 66 yards.
The Hokies have also gotten impact production on defense. Linebacker Keon Wylie leads the team with 41 tackles and has added a sack and a fumble recovery. Edge rusher Cortez Harris has 18 tackles, five sacks and a blocked kick.
Tennessee has its own Penn State imprint, and linebacker Amare Campbell is right in the middle of it. A year after leading the Lions in tackles, he is doing the same for the 6-2 Volunteers, with 52 total tackles, three sacks and three pass break-ups.
Dejuan Lane has chipped in 36 tackles, two sacks, three interceptions and a fumble recovery. Defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam has been a force, earning midseason first team All-American honors from multiple outlets.
His line: 26 tackles, 11.5 for loss, six sacks, nine quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Elsewhere, Kaden Saunders has found a role at Southern Miss, where he has appeared in six games for the 2-5 Golden Eagles and put up 15 catches for 197 yards. His biggest outing came on Oct. 6 at Troy, when he had seven receptions for 138 yards.
King Mack, now at North Carolina State, is playing at his third school in four years and has posted 21 tackles and a pass breakup for the 3-4 Wolfpack.
There’s also a local connection in the mix. Bishop Guilfoyle graduate Karson Kiesewetter, who saw special teams time with the Lions, is now at IUP playing defensive back.
A few former Penn State players ended up reuniting with position coaches at new stops. Running back Jabree Coleman went to South Carolina with coach Stan Drayton, while offensive linemen Eagan Boyer and T.J. Shanahan Jr. followed coach Phil Trautwein to Florida.
Virginia Tech’s Penn State group goes beyond the headline names. Also with Franklin there are cornerback Kenny Woseley Jr., tight end Matt Henderson, offensive lineman Michael Troutman III, defensive linemen Randy Adirika, Daniel Jennings and Mylachi Williams, and wide receiver Jeff Exinor Jr.
The rest of the former Lions are spread across a long list of programs. That group includes quarterbacks Bekkem Kritza at Alabama A&M and Jaxon Smolik at Temple; running back Corey Smith at Toledo; wide receivers Josiah Brown at Long Island, Anthony Ivey at San Jose State and Matt Outten at Syracuse; tight end Andrew Olesh at Oregon; offensive linemen Brady O'Hara at Monmouth and J'ven Williams at Charlotte; defensive linemen Kaleb Artis at Temple, Jaylen Harvey at North Carolina, Jordan Mayer at California University of Pennsylvania, Sam Siafa at Delaware, Owen Wafle at Duke and Enai White at Oklahoma State; linebackers Da'Kaari Nelson at North Carolina State, Anthony Speca at Purdue and Braswell Thomas at Central Connecticut; and defensive backs Antoine Belgrave-Shorter at Arizona State, Kolin Dinkins at Temple and Lamont Payne Jr. at Delaware State.
Running back Tikey Hayes was also in the Nebraska program, but he was dismissed from the team in August.
In Other News...
Penn States 2027 QB Search Just Got More Interesting
Penn States quarterback work in the Class of 2027 has already taken a turn, with Will Wood flipping his commitment to Boston College and leaving the Nittany Lions back in the market. The move adds another layer to a position group the staff is still actively sorting through, and it puts even more attention on how Penn State plans to shape that class moving forward.
One of the names now in the mix is Ben Rolapp, a Boston College commit who has drawn multiple offers and followed up a strong 2025 season with a growing recruiting profile. Penn States offer to Rolapp makes the picture a little more complicated, and it underscores how the Nittany Lions are continuing to chase quarterback options even as the board keeps shifting around them. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Faces Real Pressure As Offensive Concerns Keep Growing
Penn State gets Purdue at Beaver Stadium in a spot where the backdrop matters as much as the matchup. The Nittany Lions are carrying a four-game Big Ten losing streak, while Purdue arrives with an 11-game skid against Penn State, and that contrast alone says plenty about where both programs are headed entering the weekend. Barry Odom has already been talking about getting his team ready for the noise and pressure of one of the leagues tougher road environments, which only adds to the sense that this is a game Penn State has to handle with a little more purpose than it has shown lately.
Offensively, the bigger question is whether the Nittany Lions can start looking more like themselves again. Rocco Becht has battled turnover issues, but there is still expectation around him to settle in and clean things up, and there is some added hope at receiver with Koby Howard potentially back after missing four games. For a team trying to stop a slide and restore confidence, those are the kinds of pieces that matter, even if the broader problems have been too stubborn to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State May Need Arrington Back Sooner Than Fans Expected
Penn State has spent much of the season trying to piece together its edge-rusher rotation, and the latest availability report only underscored how thin that room can get. LaVar Arrington II was sidelined for the first seven games after knee surgery, and with Max Granville already out for the year, the staff has had to keep sorting through a group that also includes young players such as Alexander McPherson and Yvan Kemajou.
Against Purdue in Week 9, Arrington was absent from the availability report, a small but notable development for a defense still managing multiple injuries and a crowded injury list overall. For Penn State, the question is no longer just when Arrington gets back, but how quickly the Nittany Lions need him once he does, given the way the depth chart has been tested at one of the most demanding spots on the field. [Read more 🡒]