Penn State receiver Dante Cephas expected to re-enter NCAA transfer portal
Penn State receiver Dante Cephas is expected re-entered the NCAA transfer portal. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native joined the Lions ahead of the 2023 season after first spending four seasons at Kent State. He did not arrive until the summer, which ultimately delayed his ability to impact the offense at his new school.
Updated: 5:15 pm – Cephas has officially entered the transfer portal per On3.
Cephas caught just 11 passes during the September and October portions of the schedule and did not find the end zone. But, he came on in November, as he caught 11 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns over the final four games of the regular season. However, he suited up for but did not receive a snap in the Lions’ Peach Bowl loss. His decision to leave State College came shortly after the contest.
“Everything’s an open competition every week, and the depth chart reflects that,” Lions coach James Franklin said after the 38-25 loss to Ole Miss when asked about Cephas’ availability for the game.
“Then obviously when you’re in a bowl situation and you’ve got three weeks, there’s a lot of movement that can occur in three weeks. Part of that obviously is having Trey [Wallace] back [who] we had not had for about five weeks this year.”
Cephas finishes his time at Penn State with 22 receptions for 246 yards and two scores. The Lions hoped he would impact their offense in both 2023 and 2024. However, he, like the rest of the room, struggled to contribute consistently on game days over a 10-3 season. And now, an expected second year with the team will not occur. It’s yet another indicator of the work Penn State must do to re-tool its receivers room before next season.
Track Penn State transfer portal activity
The NCAA transfer portal database is private. But Blue-White Illustrated and the On3 Network have you covered from start to finish when it comes to tracking Penn State player movement.
Our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways. We have articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, a dedicated transfer portal Twitter account, and the On3 Transfer Portal wire.
The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking, and original On3 Consensus recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image, and likeness).
While the transfer portal officially opens for business on Dec. 4 for undergraduate players, grad transfers can enter it at any time. This specific transfer portal window runs through Jan. 2, 2024. It is important to note that a player does not need to make his decision by the deadline. Undergrads do, however, have to declare their intent to enter the portal by then. When they pick their next school or decide to return to their current one after that is up to them. A second transfer portal window will run April 15-30.
