Penn State Enters Transfer Portal Season: Departures, Targets

Penn State plays one final game in the 2025 season this weekend, traveling to New York to face Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. Meanwhile, the team continues to transition from the James Franklin era to the Matt Campbell era as the team steadily works toward January and the transfer portal. This week on the BWI Live Show, we’ll discuss the team’s latest roster news, including transfers from the program. Players the team may target in the portal, and the latest coaching news. The team still needs a defensive coordinator, and it still needs to finalize details with several defensive coaches.

With Christmas on Thursday, today will be the only BWI Live Show this week. However, we’ll have a full weekend of game coverage on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel. Join us at 9 a.m. from downtown State College as we broadcast live from the Scholar Hotel at the Big Springs Spirits Tasting room. We’ll preview the matchup between Clemson and Penn State for 90 minutes heading into the official radio pregame show. You can hear the Tailgate Show on the BWI YouTube Channel, 99.8 The Bus, or on Bigfoot Country Legends. The Tailgate Show is produced in conjunction with Seven Mountains Media.

Penn State roster reveals its new form with transfers

It’s no secret that plenty of Penn State football players plan to enter the transfer portal in the next few weeks, but some of the names are starting to come out publicly this week. Late last week, defensive end Chaz Coleman put his name into the portal, and on Monday evening, starting cornerback A.J. Harris added his name to the list.

Today, we’ll discuss the impact of losing a rising star and a top starter from the defensive secondary for the upcoming season. How many other players could make their way to the portal? We won’t speculate about names, but we’ll give fans an outline of what to expect.

On the flip side, the transfer portal is filling up with potential Penn State football players if the team is interested in bringing in outside help for 2026. The obvious place to start is the Iowa State transfer portal tracker, which has six names expected to join the ranks of players looking for a new home in the new year. We’ll discuss which names you need to know, including starting quarterback Rocco Becht.

Staffing update: Or lack thereof

It’s been very quiet on the Penn State staffing front for the last several days. After a flurry of news in the first week and a half, the team’s coaching roster under Campbell has remained silent. What’s the latest on the team’s pursuit of a defensive coordinator? Why haven’t the deals become official with defensive line coach Deion Barnes and linebackers Dan Connor? We’ll discuss what we know about the situation and give fans the latest on the impact of not having those pieces in place.

Want to discuss something else? Join the BWI Live Show at 10 a.m. on YouTube and join the live chat! We’ll discuss your questions and comments during the hour-long show.