Mike Rhoades is back in roster-building mode at Penn State, and this version looks every bit as unfinished as you’d expect this early in October.
The Nittany Lions were on the floor Friday afternoon for their third practice of the season inside the Bryce Jordan Center practice gym, and the urgency was easy to see. Penn State has a little more than five weeks before its opener against Canisius on Nov. 2, and the Big Ten slate starts to creep in soon after, with the conference opener set for Dec. 8 against Nebraska and league play beginning in earnest Jan. 2 at home against Oregon.
That timeline matters because this is another reset for Rhoades. He’s done this before at Penn State: taking over after an NCAA Tournament appearance and coaching change before his first season in 2023, then navigating a roster last year that included 10 newcomers, eight of them freshmen. Now, heading into his fourth year, he’s trying to mold a group that brings back only two rotational players from a last-place Big Ten team.
“There's certain things that are in your control,” Rhoades said. “There's certain things that aren't.
It is what it is, so you got to do the best you can with what you have. You're just trying to find the best fits.
You got to find a level of talent in this league. You gotta find the people that fit me, fit our program and our staff.
One thing I will say is, if you're gonna have to do that every year, character and toughness gotta be way, way high on the list. We all know you gotta get enough talent, but character and toughness during this situation, that's the key.”
Penn State’s 2026-27 roster has three returners from last season’s 12-20 team that finished 3-17 in Big Ten play. The rest of the group is new: six players arrived through the NCAA Transfer Portal, and four more came from the international ranks.
So Friday wasn’t just another practice. It was another look at a team Rhoades is still trying to figure out, and one that observers are still getting to know as well.
Penn State opened the session to the media, and Lions247 was there to watch.
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