Penn State football’s cornerbacks are in transition, and Jalen Kimber could help with that transition.
Between Kalen King, Johnny Dixon and Daequan Hardy, the defense is losing 13 years of college football experience.
Fortunately for Penn State, the program got some experience over the offseason.
Jalen Kimber played in the SEC for four seasons. He stared his career at the University of Georgia in 2020 and played there for two seasons, then transferred to Florida, staying in the same division. He played two more seasons at Florida and, by the time he was done, was a regular starter in UF’s secondary.
Now, he’s at Penn State, where he looks to reclaim a starting spot at a new school.
Kimber is the subject of the latest edition of All 105, a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player.
Height: 6-feet
Weight: 185 pounds
Hometown: Merrillville, Indiana
BEFORE PENN STATE
High school: Kimber played four seasons at Mansfield Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas. As a senior, Kimber was an all-district defender and was invited to the 2020 All-American Bowl. Kimber was a four-star recruit and committed to Georgia in April 2019.
2020: Kimber appeared in Georgia’s Oct. 10 game against Tennessee, making his first tackle.
2021: Kimber played in two games, making a tackle against UAB. He didn’t play the rest of the season due to injury.
2022: Now playing at Florida, Kimber appeared in all 13 games. Perhaps his biggest play of the season came Sept. 17 against South Florida when he returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown.
Last year: Kimber started 11 of Florida’s 12 games and played in all 12. He ended the season with 23 tackles (18 solo), a fumble recovery, five pass breakups and a quarterback hurry. Kimber entered the transfer portal in December 2023 and committed initially committed to Louisville. 12 days later, he flipped his commitment to Penn State and ended up signing.
Per ProFootball Focus, Kimber played 488 snaps for Florida in 2023, the fifth most on the defense. He ended the season with a PFF grade of 69.3.
Where he stands: Fellow transfer portal addition A.J Harris— who announced his commitment the same day— is expected to start at one corner position for Penn State. For the other spot, Kimber’s in a battle with third-year CB Cam Miller and second-year Zion Tracy, who each started against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.
Miller and Tracy each have more experience at Penn State but Kimber has more college starts than both of them put together. So it’s hard to argue that Kimber isn’t in the mix.
A quote by Kimber: “I wanted to go to a winning environment. They already had a culture established here, so I just felt like Penn State was the best fit for me, honestly.” — Jalen Kimber after a spring practice in early April.
A quote about Kimber: “(He’s) played a ton of football in a really good conference, and you feel that. He’s just very poised, very mature. I think he’s a guy that I’m really excited to see this summer.” — Coach James Franklin after the same practice.
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