Not all of Penn State football’s transfer portal commits are coming from Iowa State, and PSU added two non-Cyclones to its 2026 portal class.
Big 12 defensive linemen Alexander McPherson (Colorado) and Armstrong Nnodim (Oklahoma State) have each committed to PSU.
On3’s Hayes Fawcett broke the McPherson news and Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports broke the Nnodim news.
McPherson, a 6-foot-6, 250-pounder, will play on the EDGE, and Nnodim (6-foot-2, 290) will play inside.
McPherson got some playing time for Coach Prime and Colorado as a true freshman, ending the year with 16 tackles, six QB hurries, a blocked punt and half a sack.
Before Colorado, McPherson— who came from Florida’s famous IMG Academy— came to Boulder as a three-star recruit.
“The plays they make on the backside, as they continue to grow and see some things – they’re just going to continue to thrive,” Colorado defensive coordinator Rob Livingston said about McPherson and fellow signee London Merritt. “You can build around those guys. They’re the right kind of people. You look in their eyes, there’s something behind their eyeballs. The game means a lot to them, and we’re lucky to have them.”
Nnodim, who redshirted his freshman season in 2024, ended 2025 with 11 tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss.
Nnodim came to Stillwater as a three-star prospect from Texas’ Mesquite Horn High School.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Oklahoma State coach Doug Meacham described Nnodim’s presence earlier this season.
“I want him to go be a leader of a business or a corporation, but you just look at him, you’d say he’ll be a lifetime bouncer at the doorway of a bar,” Meacham said. “He’s a scary dude now. He comes in there, he’s yoked up. I wouldn’t want any piece of that guy.”
Each player will have three years of eligibility remaining.
McPherson will add depth to Penn State’s DE room, which lost a talented piece in Chaz Coleman. Penn State retained two key pieces in Yvan Kemajou and Max Granville, who is slated to come back after missing the 2025 season with an injury.
Nnodim gives Penn State some size up front, complementing UCLA transfer Keanu Williams (6-foot-5, 320 pounds), who committed Monday night.
A combination of players running out of eligibility (Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant) and entering the transfer portal (Chaz Coleman, Zuriah Fisher, Xavier Gilliam) made it necessary for Penn State to add reinforcements up front, and that’s what new coach Matt Campbell is doing.
For more on who Penn State has added in the transfer portal, click here.
