Devonte Ross labeled Penn State's player to watch in 2025 by David Pollack

Penn State stars Drew Allar, Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton will be under the magnifying glass this season. However, college football expert David Pollack believes the Nittany Lions’ success this season will hinge on another less talked-about player: Troy transfer wide receive Devonte Ross.

“All-Sun Belt l, over 1,000 yards, 11 touchdowns, and guess what? No wide receiver — period — caught a ball against Notre Dame in the semifinal game, not a single one,” Pollack said on an episode of See Ball Get Ball. “I’m not talking about in the first quarter. I’m not talking about in the first half. Penn State didn’t have a receiver catch a football in the playoff game, in the game that mattered most, to go to a natty, not one.

“So that gives you an idea how they felt about the receiver core and how they got locked down. So, they’ve got to get some great play. Devonte Ross could be that guy on the outside with some experience.”

Penn State completed 12 total passes in its season-ending 27-24 loss against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals. However, all of them were to either a tight end or running back.

Ross will look to provide the Nittany Lions with more production at wide receiver this fall. Before transferring to Penn State this offseason, Ross played three seasons at Troy.

In the 2024 campaign, Ross recorded a career-high 76 catches for 1,043 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. For reference, Penn State’s leading wide receiver last season was Harrison Wallace III, who recorded 323 fewer receiving yards than Ross despite playing two more games.

Ross was the No. 36 wide receiver in On3’s 2025 Transfer Portal Player Rankings. Although Ross hasn’t played for a Power Four program before, he believes his talent will translate to the next level and he’s excited to show off his skills.

“I feel like a lot of times it still really hasn’t even hit me, just that I’m really at a school like this, knowing how far they got last year,” Ross said this spring. “Since I’ve been a kid, I always wanted to play in the national championship.

“That’s something that every team wants to do, wants to win a national championship. But it’s just crazy I could compete for something like that on a team like this… I can play at this level, adjusting from coming from a small school and just showing that I can be successful at this level.”