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Last season was the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff, and its design is perfect for teams like Penn State. The Penn State football team was always one of the better teams in the Big Ten during the four-team CFP era, but they could never find a way to get over the Michigan/Ohio State hurdle. The Nittany Lions never made the playoff, but they often finished in a position that would've qualified if 12 teams made it. Sure enough, Penn State made the 12-team playoff, and it is now time for head coach James Franklin to build on the momentum. The college football transfer portal will be a helpful tool.
The Penn State football team made a good run in the College Football Playoff last year as they picked up two wins and were just a couple of plays away from going to the national championship. A disastrous turnover ended up ruining the Nittany Lions' season, but the future is bright for this program as they are returning a lot of good talent from last year's team.
Penn State has some valuable returners, but the Nittany Lions are losing some elite players to the NFL. That's where the college football transfer portal comes in handy.
The Nittany Lions already got some good talent from the transfer portal when it opened up in the winter, but now that spring ball is wrapping up, James Franklin and his staff have a better idea of where they need to fill some gaps. A new haul of transfers went in the portal during the spring window, and here are a few that could be good fits for the Penn State football team.
Trebor Pena, WR, Syracuse
Syracuse transfer Trebor Pena is a hot name in the transfer portal right now after his big 2024 season. He was quiet during the first few years of his career, but once he got paired with a talented QB, he turned into a big threat. Pena hauled in 84 receptions for 941 yards and nine touchdowns last year. He is an East Coast kid as he is from New Jersey, so his home isn't too far away from Penn State. Pena did set up visits with USC, UCLA and Miami, however, so the competition is stiff here. He would be a great target for Drew Allar.
Micah Hudson, WR, Texas A&M/Texas Tech
You're going to notice a theme here with the position. The Penn State football team could use some more wide receivers! Drew Allar continues to grow and get better each year, but the Nittany Lions need to get him some more downfield threats to really take the offense to the next level. Micah Hudson is another good option. He just finished up his freshman year at Texas Tech, but he transferred to Texas A&M when the season ended. That didn't last long as Hudson is back in the portal. He had just eight receptions last year, but the potential is there.
Hykeem Williams, WR, Florida State
Florida State transfer Hykeem Williams is another good WR option for the Penn State football team. Williams and Hudson were both five-stars coming out of high school, and like Hudson, Williams has the potential to be a star. He had a solid sophomore jump last year as he caught 16 passes for 187 yards and one touchdown. In the right offense, Williams should be able to make another leap this offseason and have a big year in 2025.
Transfer portal overview
One of the biggest parts of the college football offseason is the transfer portal, and the festivities begin before the offseason actually starts. Teams that don't qualify for the postseason have entered their offseason when the portal first opens, but there are a lot of teams that still have bowl games/playoff games to play. The transfer portal opened up for the first time on December 9th, so it created some issues for players that want to transfer but still have a season going.
The transfer portal is a massive part of college football now, and there are definitely positives and negatives to it. One of the biggest issues that people have with it is the timing of the first window. It is open in early December so players can pick a new school and start the next semester there when January rolls around. However, it does create issues as we have seen players this past season on College Football Playoff teams have to miss out on the opportunity to participate in the CFP because of their transfer.
On the flip side, the transfer portal gives teams a chance to completely rebuild their squad in just one offseason. New head coaches can come in and bring in a lot of experienced players from the jump, and it can make for a quick turnaround. Any team has hope in the offseason because of the transfer portal.
The transfer portal opened up for the first time this season on December 9th and it stayed open until December 28th. This window is the main window where a lot of the action takes place, but the transfer portal is open during the spring as well.
From April 16th until April 25th, the transfer portal will be open. That way, players can go through spring ball and have a better idea of what their upcoming season will look like. If they aren’t satisfied, they can leave. We even sometimes see players that transferred in the first window transfer again in the second window, sometimes back to their original school.
The transfer portal is a crucial part of the offseason, and we will be hearing a lot about it from now until the end of the spring.
