Penn State transfer portal tracker: Lions among three schools standing out for a former Big Ten defenisve lineman
Penn State is one of three schools “standing out” to former USC defensive tackle Bear Alexander. The former four-star recruit in the Class of 2022 entered the transfer portal on Monday. Besides the Nittany Lions, Oregon and SMU are also early options of interest, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett. The Texas native is the No. 29 player overall in the On3 transfer portal rankings and the No. 1 defensive lineman. He left the Trojans back in September, reportedly because he was upset with the amount of playing time he was receiving.
“Will that void create some opportunities for more snaps for other people or the ability for us to potentially move around some chess pieces? Sure it will, in the same if somebody injured or any other player wasn’t available,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said at the time. “So, that’s how we’re viewing it and there’s a lot of excitement about the opportunities it’ll create for some of these guys and I think we’ll have several guys jump up this season and a lot of people want to play for this defense and this defensive line right now. We’ve got a good, hungry group in there and excited to see those guys continue to go to work and affect games.”
Alexander had five tackles in 2024. He had 43 and 1.5 sacks in 2023. And, he had seven and a sack in 2022 at Georgia, which was the first school that he played at.
Defensive line is a position that makes sense for Penn State to pursue
Lions coach James Franklin said that he is directing his staff to be “aggressive” in the transfer portal despite not having a great feel yet for how his roster will change based on departures following the team’s College Football Playoff run. But, trying to make additions along the defensive line certainly makes sense. The Lions will lose All-Big Ten defensive end Abdul Carter to the NFL Draft and Dani Dennis-Sutton will have a decision to make as well. And at defensive tackle, Dvon J-Thomas is out of eligibility. And, Coziah Izzard walked on Senior Day and Zane Durant will have a stay or go decision to make. So, reinforcements will be needed.
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Which Penn State players are in the portal?
As of 11:50 a.m. ET on Dec. 10, two Penn State players are moving on.
Tight end Jerry Cross is officially in the portal. He will have three years of eligibility at his next school. Cross said before the Big Ten title game that he was moving on and officially went in on Monday.
Class of 2024 signee T.A. Cunningham is the first Nittany Lion to plan to portal since the team clinched a CFP spot. On3’s Hayes Fawcett reported on Dec. 9 that the Georgia native and defensive tackle is moving on after spending just one season in State College. He will have four seasons of eligibility remaining at his next school.
