Greg McElroy identifies Penn State's biggest needs in transfer portal

The Penn State Nittany Lions were able to make a deep run in the College Football Playoff last season. However, after coming up short in the semifinal head coach James Franklin is looking for a way to get the Nittany Lions over the hump.

Analyst Greg McElroy sees one clear area for Penn State to improve. That’s the wide receiver position. On his show Always College Football, McElroy explained how that’s the position to be on the lookout for this Transfer Portal cycle.

“Penn State is probably going to be in a situation here in the spring portal window in which more guys are leaving than they have guys coming in,” Greg McElroy said. “But I still think when you look at Penn State, you’re never going to turn down the opportunity to add depth and quality to the wide receiver core.”

Wide receiver ended up being a weakness for Penn State in 2024. The offense often found itself relying on tight end Tyler Warren in the passing game as a result. Harrison Wallace III ended up leading the receivers in yards with 720 last season. No other receiver had more than 415 yards for the season.

“Still, I can’t get it out of my mind. I know those of you that are watching, it’s probably hard for you to get out of your mind, Penn State wide receivers did not catch a ball in the Orange Bowl, their last game. We have not seen a wide receiver catch a ball on that size stage in a minute. So, they went out and they addressed it the first time around. You go out and get Devonte Ross from Troy. You go out and get Kyron Hudson. Those two guys, they signed in the offseason,” McElroy said.

“A lot of people have been praising what those two could potentially do. I think those guys have a chance to significantly upgrade the wide receiver core at Penn State from this past season, but if there’s a guy that’s available, I would not be surprised if Penn State became a player.”

Penn State has already added three wide receivers in the Transfer Portal. Along with Devonte Ross and Kyron Hudson, the Nittany Lions also added Trebor Pena. Another three wide receivers are joining the room from the high school ranks. Among the team’s returning wide receivers, Liam Clifford is coming off the most productive individual season with 18 receptions for 286 yards and a touchdown in 2024.

“I think if you look at everything and you think about what Andy Kotelnicki wants to do, how he wants to deploy talent, how he wants to move guys around and create confusion for the opposing defense. If you find a guy that can potentially create some problems from a matchup standpoint,” McElroy said. “I think they would add that guy in a heartbeat. So, keep an eye on Penn State. I don’t think they’ll be buyers, but if they are, it might be as a wide receiver that can create some mismatches when you move them around.”

Penn State currently has the 38th-ranked transfer class in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. That includes a class that has seen 18 players exit the program and seven players enter it. Three of those incoming transfers are already wide receivers.