According to a report by the Athletic’s Max Olson, former Penn State target Derrick LeBlanc has entered the transfer portal from Oklahoma.
Oklahoma DL Derrick LeBlanc has entered the transfer portal, @TheAthletic has learned.
The true freshman was a 4-star signee and early enrollee.
— Max Olson (@max_olson) June 12, 2023
Before he committed to Oklahoma late last July, LeBlanc had Penn State as a finalist along with Oklahoma and Florida.
The Class of 2023 6-foot-5, 265-pounder enrolled at Oklahoma this past January.
Before that, he was a four-star recruit from Florida’s Osceola High School, rated as such by every major outlet aside from Rivals, which had him as a three-star. 247Sports rated LeBlanc the No. 46 overall player in Florida and the No. 34 defensive lineman in the country from the 2023 Class. He was also an Under Armour All-American.
LeBlanc went on an official visit to Penn State June 17-19 of last year. He had eight sacks and 38 tackles for Osceola as a junior and ended his career with 136 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 28 sacks.
He’s a transfer worth monitoring for Penn State fans because of his talent and relationship with head coach James Franklin and his staff.
Franklin’s stated in the past that Penn State’s transfers usually had the school as a finalist, in which case LeBlanc meets the criteria.
A good example of this is Chop Robinson.
Robinson, a four-star from the Class of 2022, had Penn State in his top two along with Maryland, and initially chose Maryland. But after a season as a Terp, Robinson transferred to Penn State, where he’s become one of the team’s best player.
Penn State’s already added a transfer DT in Ok’d Dominion’s Alonzo Ford, but Franklin stated in his most recent media availability last Thursday, June 8, that Penn State would be open to adding more.
“I just felt like we needed a little more depth at defensive tackle,” he said. “Again, those positions, there’s a lot of physicality and contact, so having some guys with experience at those positions and depth, being able to watch him on tape against Virginia and against Virginia Tech and how he played against those opponents was helpful for us because we feel like that’s got the best ability for us to determine kind of how his skills will transfer at this level.”
