Penn State portal patience pays off, but more work remains
Penn State football made big news away from the current team Tuesday as the Lions continue their penultimate week of spring practice.
In today’s batch of takes, we cover the portal and what could lie ahead for the Nittany Lions on that front.
1. Portal patience pays off
Penn State plucked Demeioun Robinson out of the portal Tuesday morning. It’s a good reminder that patience when it comes to the search for talent from other schools often pays off.
Nittany Lions fans were rightly eager to see the team add to its haul of receiver Mitchell Tinsley, whose already on campus, and interior lineman Hunter Nourzad, who will join the team once he graduates from Cornell this spring. But, finding the right fit is easier said than done. The obstacles are endless.
Some are tied to the team itself. Is a portal player the right fit? Will he mesh with the locker room well? Does he fill an obvious need? And is there room on the scholarship chart?
Then, there is the player side of it, of course. Where is the path to the field, and preferably a starting spot, best? Which school does he have previous relationships with? Are the position coach and scheme right? And what kind of academic, NIL, and other off-field options are there?
When you put all those questions together, it should go without saying that finding the perfect fit is hard for both sides. It takes time, trust, and a lot of box-checking.
All of it may make Penn State take longer than others to fill its needs. But, as head coach James Franklin and co., have shown, with a little bit of patience, they’re capable of doing it.
2. Penn State still has needs to address, however
Franklin was direct last week about Penn State needing to find an edge rusher. It’s now done that with Robinson, who will move up to end from linebacker, which he played at Maryland.
However, the Lions are certainly not done looking in the portal yet.
Let’s revisit a Franklin quote from December.
“Depending on how some things play out, but I think we have a need on the offensive line,” he said. “I think we would be interested in a wide receiver.
“If you talk about the defensive side of the ball. A defensive end and possibly a defensive tackle based on some things that could happen on our roster. And then obviously we’re losing some big time linebackers so linebacker, defensive line.”
Tinsley checks the receiver box and Robinson the end box. Nourzad helps along the line but another addition is possible there. Perhaps even one along the defensive line is, too. Then, the obvious sticking out like a sore thumb position is linebacker. Penn State is short on numbers there and will continue its quest to add at least one body to new defensive coordinator and position coach Manny Diaz’s room.
Our take here is this: It will all get done before fall camp begins, but as noted above, it’s probably going to take longer to happen than many are hoping for.
