Penn State’s roster exodus after the 2025 season has turned into a nationwide showcase for former Nittany Lions, with several transfers landing on their feet fast. Whether they followed James Franklin to Virginia Tech, joined Jim Knowles at Tennessee or found fresh starts elsewhere in the ACC, a handful of them are already producing in a big way.
The biggest immediate impact has come from the group that went with Franklin to Blacksburg. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and tight end Luke Reynolds have both jumped into starring roles for the Hokies, helping fuel a 5-2 start.
Grunkemeyer has taken over as Virginia Tech’s full-time starter and has wasted little time putting up numbers. Through seven games, he’s thrown for an ACC-leading 1,984 yards and has accounted for 20 total touchdowns. He’s operating in former Penn State tight ends coach Ty Howle’s offense, and the fit has been obvious so far.
Reynolds has been just as eye-catching. The former 4-star recruit has become one of the country’s most productive tight ends, piling up 449 yards and four touchdowns on 43 catches. No tight end in the nation has more receiving yards this season.
Virginia Tech has also gotten meaningful production on defense from some familiar names. Linebacker Keon Wylie leads the Hokies with 36 tackles, taking on a larger workload than he ever had in three seasons at Penn State.
Edge rusher Cortez Harris, a freshman at Penn State last year, is second on the team with five sacks and has settled in as one of Virginia Tech’s starting edge rushers. The other Penn State transfers who followed Franklin are mostly in depth roles, much like they were with the Nittany Lions.
Tennessee, meanwhile, has gotten real juice from the trio that followed Knowles. Linebacker Amare Campbell is leading the Volunteers with 46 tackles and has formed half of a standout linebacker pairing with Arion Carter. In Knowles’ second year running the defense, Campbell has thrived in the system.
Safety Dejuan Lane earned a starting job after Edrees Farooq was ruled out for the season before opening kickoff, and he’s made the most of it. Lane leads Tennessee with three interceptions and has added 28 tackles, showing the kind of growth that made him a starter in the first place while at Penn State last year.
Defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam has been the most disruptive of the bunch. He has five sacks, including three in Tennessee’s opener against Furman.
The former Nittany Lion trio has helped anchor one of the nation’s top defenses, and the Volunteers are ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. That group showed its teeth in Week 7, when Tennessee held Alabama to 10 points in an upset win.
Not every former Penn Stater landed in the same orbit, but plenty of them have still found roles in the ACC. Beau Pribula is on his third team in three years and has settled in as Virginia’s starter after a year at Missouri. He’s thrown for 1,211 yards and 13 touchdowns with just one interception, and the Cavaliers sit at 4-3 in the middle of the ACC.
At NC State, safety King Mack has carved out a rotation spot and has 18 tackles. He’s listed third on the depth chart at safety, with his best outing coming in Week 0 against Virginia, when he made seven tackles.
Clemson cornerback Elliot Washington II has had his moments under defensive coordinator Tom Allen, another former Penn State playcaller. In six games, Washington leads the Tigers with three interceptions and four passes broken up, including a game-winning pick against North Carolina. He’s doing it alongside Ashton Hampton, one of the best corners in the country.
Two former Nittany Lions crossed paths in a Week 7 ACC rivalry game, with North Carolina edge rusher Jaylen Harvey and Duke defensive lineman Owen Wafle facing each other. Harvey had four tackles in the Tar Heels’ win and is second on the team with five sacks this season. Wafle has been in a depth role for Duke, didn’t record a stat against North Carolina, and has five tackles on the year.
In Other News...
Penn State Title Chase Now Hinges On Two Huge Lineup Decisions
Penn States path back into the center of the national title conversation is getting a boost at two key weights, with Cael Sanderson saying Tyler Kasak and Josh Barr are expected to be fully recovered and back in competition. Both wrestlers were injured at the U.S. Open in April, but each has now resumed hard work, giving the Nittany Lions added clarity as lineup planning starts to sharpen.
Kasak is projected to slot in at 157 pounds, while Barr is returning with the kind of expectations that go beyond simply filling a spot. For a program that measures seasons by March more than by anything else, those two decisions carry real weight, and Penn State now has to see how quickly both can settle back in and contend for top honors. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Suddenly Has A Recruiting Problem Matt Campbell Can't Ignore
Penn States recruiting picture took another jolt when 2027 quarterback commit Will Wood backed off his pledge and picked Boston College instead. It is the kind of move that can happen early in a cycle, but it still lands with extra weight for a program trying to steady itself and keep its future classes on track.
Matt Campbell said his staff is working across multiple recruiting classes while also trying not to lose sight of the team in front of them. For Penn State, that balance matters right now: the staff has to keep pushing on the trail, keep evaluating what comes next, and still find a way to help the current roster improve enough to make those conversations easier. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Quarterback Move Changes How Penn State Fans May View That Loss
Tommy Carr is in line to make his first career start for Michigan against Indiana after his effective relief work against Penn State, a move that should at least prompt a little rethinking in State College about the sting of that loss. Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham said the staff has settled on a starter, though he stopped short of naming Carr publicly, and also made clear he feels good about Carrs preparation and football IQ.
Bryce Underwood, who had been the starter before the change, is expected to stay on the sideline unless the Wolverines need him because of injury or performance issues. For Penn State, the bigger takeaway is less about who Michigan is starting next and more about what that quarterback decision says about how the Wolverines viewed the game Carr helped swing in relief. [Read more 🡒]