Penn State LB Anthony Speca commits to Purdue out of NCAA transfer portal

Penn State linebacker Anthony Speca has committed to Purdue via the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Steve Wiltfong has learned. Speca has spent the past two seasons with the Nittany Lions.

As a true freshman in 2024, Speca appeared in six games. He finished the season with eight tackles, three of them solo stops.

In 2025, Anthony Speca logged action in 11 games during the season, which proved to be chaotic thanks to the midseason firing of coach James Franklin. He finished with six tackles on the year.

Prior to enrolling at Penn State, Anthony Speca was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 494 overall recruit in the 2024 class, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings. He also checked in as the No. 44 linebacker in the class and the No. 9 overall player in the state of Pennsylvania, hailing from Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic.

In high school, Speca was a four-year letterman and a two-year captain. He helped Central Catholic to a 10-2 record and a WPIAL runner-up title as a senior.

His production was outstanding. As a senior, he led the team with 94 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and five sacks to go with 12 pass breakups, one fumble recovery and two blocked field goals. His junior year might have been even more productive, with 122 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and five blocked field goals.

Anthony Speca in, Nitro Tuggle out at Purdue

The addition of Anthony Speca is a nice one for Purdue, which has seen some players hit the portal. Wide receiver Nitro Tuggle was one such player to hit the portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Tuggle is back on the open market for the second straight offseason. Wherever he ends up will be school No. 3 in as many years.

Tuggle played in all 12 games for Purdue this season, putting together a productive year. He caught 34 passes for exactly 500 yards, adding four touchdowns. Two of those scores came during Big Ten play vs. USC and Rutgers, while adding another against Notre Dame.

Two years of eligibility remain for Tuggle. No redshirt was taken during his true freshman campaign, which was spent at Georgia. Minimal stats were put up over eight games in Athens, hauling in three catches for 34 yards. Most of those yards came in a win over Tennessee, getting 25 with two receptions.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this report.