Penn State’s roster makeover under Matt Campbell is already deep into the kind of churn that usually takes a few cycles to settle. The 2026 team is set on paper, but the real sorting-out still figures to happen in camp and then again next winter, when the transfer portal opens and the Nittany Lions could be active once more.
With Campbell now building the program in his own image after taking over for James Franklin, a handful of players already look like they may be staring at the exit after the season. Depth chart position, eligibility, and fit all point in the same direction for five names in particular.
Chimdy Onoh is one of them. He arrived as part of Penn State’s loaded 2023 offensive line class, but that group has thinned out fast.
Anthony Donkoh is the only member of that class who has started for the Nittany Lions, while five-stars Alex Birchmeier and J’Ven Williams both transferred out this offseason. Onoh’s path looks crowded too, with junior Cooper Cousins and redshirt junior Trevor Buhr projected as the starting right and left guards.
Buhr has one year of eligibility left, and Cousins now has two years remaining because of the new five-in-five rule that went into effect this summer, even though he never redshirted. If Onoh can’t crack that mix, his future in Happy Valley gets murky in a hurry.
The tackle situation could push another player toward the portal as well. Redshirt sophomore Sexton is in the mix at left tackle with Malachi Goodman and Owen Aliciene, while Donkoh has right tackle locked down. That leaves Sexton competing with two redshirt freshmen for one spot, and if he loses that battle, the route to meaningful snaps may disappear.
Penn State also did a solid job holding together much of its offensive line after Phil Trautwein left for Florida, but that doesn’t change the math for Sexton. If he looks like a starting-caliber tackle and still ends up stuck behind Goodman, he could become a prime portal target because offensive tackle talent is hard to find and even harder to keep.
On the defensive line, Liam Andrews faces a different kind of problem: fit. At 6-foot-4 and 276 pounds, he’s not small, but he doesn’t match what new defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe wants inside. Malloe has clearly prioritized bigger bodies, bringing in Armstrong Nnodim at 6-foot-2, 310 pounds, Siale Taupaki at 6-foot-2, 326 pounds, Keanu Williams at 6-foot-5, 317 pounds, and Dallas Vakalahi at 6-foot-2, 326 pounds.
Andrews was recruited by Deion Barnes, who valued speed and quickness at the position. Under Malloe and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, though, he looks like he may be stuck behind a group that better fits the new standard. Unless he adds weight, the field could stay out of reach.
Quarterback Peyton Falzone is another name worth watching. The in-state four-star had a strange ride through the 2026 cycle, first committing to James Franklin at Penn State, then flipping to Auburn, then decommitting after Hugh Freeze was fired and signing with the head coach-less Nittany Lions on Early Signing Day.
Falzone is the highest-rated quarterback on the roster, but he was not Campbell’s choice. Texas three-star Kase Evans was, and he was released from his Iowa State signing so he could join Penn State. Falzone could still play his way into being the heir apparent, but the more likely outcome is that he eventually lands somewhere he fits more cleanly into the plan.
The final player on the list is Wallace, whose career has been slowed by injuries and time. A three-star in the 2023 class, he has waited his turn and fought through major setbacks, including breaking bones in both legs in 2024 against Kent State. Even so, he heads into his penultimate year of eligibility, pending a possible medical hardship waiver, still buried on the depth chart.
Penn State added Carson Hansen from Iowa State and James Peoples from Ohio State, and those two transfers are expected to pair with Quinton Martin Jr. in a three-headed backfield for 2026. Peoples and Martin both have eligibility beyond this season, which only makes Wallace’s path narrower. He has just 24 career carries, and if he wants a bigger role, he may have to find it somewhere else.
In Other News...
Penn State Fans Are Just Realizing How Much Talent Left
Penn States offseason roster churn has been impossible to miss, and the scale of it says plenty about how much turnover the program has had to absorb. Forty players transferred in, many of them following head coach Matt Campbell from his former Iowa State program, but the other side of the ledger is just as telling, with a long list of familiar names leaving Happy Valley and popping up elsewhere as the 2025 season approaches.
What makes the exodus stand out is not just the volume, but the destinations attached to it. Several former Nittany Lions have surfaced at programs that will be familiar to Penn State fans for different reasons, from Virginia Tech to Temple, Tennessee and North Carolina State, with a particularly notable cluster heading to Blacksburg under James Franklin. It is the kind of transfer trail that leaves a fan base piecing together where the old depth chart went, and how much of the programs recent talent really was on the move. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Kept A Key Pennsylvania Talent When It Mattered Most
Penn States 2026 class got a little more interesting when Jackson Ford stayed in the fold through a time when plenty of recruits might have looked elsewhere. The freshman defensive end from Malvern Prep was one of the more coveted prospects in Pennsylvania, a four-star talent whose profile made him the kind of developmental edge player the Nittany Lions can afford to be patient with.
Fords loyalty matters because it kept a top in-state piece attached to the program while the roster and recruiting picture shifted around him. A player with his ceiling gives Penn State another reason to feel good about the long view, especially with a local prospect who had the kind of production and pedigree that usually invites late drama before signing day. [Read more 🡒]
Andrew Rappleyea Faces Penn State's Biggest Tight End Question In 2026
Andrew Rappleyea heads into 2026 with the kind of rsum Penn State wants from a tight end who is still climbing the depth chart. The redshirt junior played in 13 games and made eight starts last season, and his role grew as the year went along as he became a more reliable part of the passing game. He finished with 20 catches for 180 yards and three touchdowns, giving the Nittany Lions a steady option at a position that often has to do a little of everything.
The question now is how far his game can stretch beyond being a dependable receiver. Rappleyea showed enough production to suggest he can be part of the answer, but his blocking still needs work if Penn State wants him to handle a bigger all-around load in 2026. For a program that leans on tight ends to help shape both the run game and the middle of the field, that balance could determine whether he settles in as a useful piece or becomes much more than that. [Read more 🡒]