Penn State hasn’t needed too many transfers over the past few years.
In the “transfer portal era,” Penn State hasn’t had a ton of players leave, and thus, hasn’t needed a ton of players to come in.
Yet, Penn State has gotten some talent.
On past teams, players like Arnold Ebiketie, Mitchell Tinsley and Barney Amor all made impacts.
But what about the current team?
Thanks to our sister outlet, The Portal Report, there’s a new system to help determine the success of transfers to Penn State and every other school.
“In order to identify top performers,” TPR wrote, “the TPR staff utilize the fantasy football scoring detailed below. This provides us with a baseline to compare players, regardless of position. The scoring has been optimized to approximate similar average fantasy points at each position. The TPR staff then analyze each individual player based on intangible characteristics of their game performance each week.
The scoring system will be explained to go along with the position for each Penn State player detailed below.
**Note: This will be detailing Penn State’s transfers from the 2022 season onward, so players such as Johnny Dixon won’t be included. There also isn’t any data for Hunter Nourzad due to him being an offensive lineman.
RILEY THOMPSON
Transferred in: 2023
Transferred from: Florida Atlantic
What the data says: Per the Portal Report’s data, the Australian-born punter was Penn State’s most productive transfer this season, and was on TPR’s midseason All-American team.
Here’s how FTPS works for punters.
Punt Attempts = 0.2 fpts
Punt Inside 20 = 2.0 fpts
Average Yards per Punt
< 35 yards = 0 fpts
35 – 40 yards = 2 fpts
40 – 45 yards = 6 fpts
45 – 50 yards = 8 fpts
50 yards = 12 fpts
Thompson finished the year with 10.3 total f/pts per game and had a total FPTS of 123.2.
He did a solid job filling the shoes of Barney Amor, who transferred in from Colgate before the 2021 season and became Penn State’s starter in 2022.
Before Amor, Jordan Stout was one of college football’s best punters. Stout transferred in from Virginia Tech before the 2019 season and played at Penn State for three years. Now, he’s the starting punter for the Baltimore Ravens. After Thompson’s Senior Day at Beaver Stadium Nov. 18 against Rutgers, coach James Franklin told Brian Tripp of GoPSUSports that Penn State wanted to get a waiver from the NCAA do Thompson can be eligible for 2024.
CHOP ROBINSON
Transferred in: 2022
Transferred from: Maryland
What the data says: The vast majority of Penn State fans would say that Robinson has been the most productive player Penn State’s gotten from the transfer portal to date, and it’s just about impossible to argue with that. Robinson hasn’t announced whether he wants to stay at Penn State for 2024 or declare for the Draft. If he does declare, he’s likely to be a first-round pick, and it’s at Penn State where he blossomed into a star.
Here’s how FTPS works for defensive players.
Total Tackles = 1.4 fpts
Tackle for Loss = 2.0 fpts
QB Hurry = 0.5 fpts
Sack = 4.5 fpts
Interception = 10.0 fpts
Pass Defended = 2.5 fpts
Fumble Recovered = 3.0 fpts
Defensive TD = 6.0 fpts
Robinson’s total FPTS/G this season Penn State is 6.9 and his total FTPS is 62.
DANTE CEPHAS
Transferred in: 2023
Transferred from: Penn State
What the data says: Cephas didn’t quite make the impact Penn State fans were hoping for in what will be his lone season at Penn State.
In his fifth season, the Kent State transfer and in-state product from Penn Hills High School in the Pittsburgh area caught 22 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns.
Here’s how FPTS works for receivers.
Receiving Yards = 0.10 fpts
Receiving TD = 6.0 fpts
Receptions = 0.5 fpts
TPR’s data says that Cephas ended the season with 4.8 FPTS/G and had a total FPTS of 47.6.
TREY POTTS
Transferred in: 2023
Transferred from: Minnesota
What the data says: Potts came to Penn State over the offseason from another Big Ten school. Another in-state product (Williamsport) gave Penn State depth at RB behind Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
Here’s how FPTS works for running backs.
Rushing Yards = 0.10 fpts
Rushing TD = 6.0 fpts
Lost Fumble = -2.0 fpts
Potts ended his first of two possible seasons at Penn State with 4.5 FPTS/G and a total FTPS of 44.6.
MALIK MCCLAIN
Transferred in: 2023
Transferred from: Florida State
What the data says: McClain had an up-and-down first season at Penn State. His first game— the season-opening win over West Virginia under the Beaver Stadium lights— ended up being his best one of the year. McClain ended that night with four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. It was an encouraging start, but McClain only caught passes in two of the remaining 11 regular-season games, with a reception each in the next two weeks against Delaware and Illinois. As far as TPR goes, McClain ended the year with 4.4 total FPTS/G and 6.7 total FPTS.
AUDAVION COLLINS
Transferred in: 2023
Transferred from: Mississippi State
What the data says: Collins didn’t get much playing time for Penn State. The reserve defensive back ended the season with 3.4 total FPTS/G and a 6.7 total FPTS.
