Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1420595
2 8 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M a junior; he played in only 10 games and started five. But during last year's COVID-shortened ACC campaign, he started all 11 games, finishing with 40 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and a team-best three forced fumbles. Three of his tackles for loss came in a single game, a 38-24 victory at Syracuse. For his career, Tangelo played in 45 games at Duke, started 27 of them, and totaled 114 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. As the 2020 season drew to a close, Tangelo began thinking that he might want a change of scenery to finish his college career. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lion coaching staff was assessing the team's needs in the wake of a disap- pointing 4-5 finish. The defensive line was an area that the coaches wanted to strengthen. What wasn't meant to be in 2017 suddenly was a possibility in 2021. "Penn State had always been a dream school of mine," Tangelo said. "I felt like leaving Duke would give me more ex- posure. I just felt I needed a fresh start. I feel like I had a great time at Duke and I accomplished a lot of things, but I felt like there was more for me to do." It didn't take long for both sides to realize the best place for him to do that was in State College. Tangelo was one of hundreds of players who entered the transfer portal following the pandemic- shortened 2020 season, and while he didn't pop out to many schools look- ing for a quick fix at defensive tackle, his name eventually caught someone's eye in the Lasch Building. After the staff took a look at his tape, things pro- gressed quickly. "I really loved my teammates at Duke," Tangelo said. "I love Duke in general, being there four years, but I just felt like I needed to change when I hit the portal. It was actually interesting. I didn't really get a lot of buzz at first, The impact of the transfer portal on Penn State's roster was clear for all to see on Sept. 18 when the Nittany Lions faced Auburn in this year's White Out game. Senior defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo, formerly of Duke, recovered a fumble and made a potentially game-saving tackle in the fourth quarter. Senior de- fensive end Arnold Ebiketie, formerly of Temple, was arguably Penn State's most dangerous pass rusher throughout the game. And senior running back John Lovett, formerly of Baylor, provided a key spark for the Nittany Lions off the bench. Still, speaking to the local media a few days after the Lions' 28-20 win over the Tigers, coach James Franklin expressed some reservations about the transfer portal and its impact on college football. "Even though we've had success with the portal, I wouldn't say I'm necessarily a huge fan and believer in it," he said. "I guess there's a time and place for everything. I guess we probably view it, like a lot of people do, almost like junior college players, like the situation we have with Lackawanna, where you're trying to fill a void that you have, especially in the upper class, while you're waiting for a younger guy to develop and grow and mature. I wouldn't say we're ever going to be a huge junior college or transfer portal team." The Nittany Lions may have taken a targeted approach to the transfer portal this year, but it's had a big influence on the course of their season. On the defensive side of the ball, Tangelo and Ebiketie had each made six starts, with the latter emerging as one of the team's standout players. Heading into the Lions' bye week, the 6-foot-3, 256-pound defensive end was third on the team in tackles with 31 and was PSU's leader in tackles for loss (nine) and sacks (four). A third defensive transfer, junior cornerback Johnny Dixon, formerly of South Carolina, had played in five games in a backup role, including a four-tackle afternoon against Ball State. On offense, the Lions have been getting key contributions from Lovett and senior guard Eric Wilson. After missing Penn State's first two games for unspecified reasons, Lovett began seeing action in Week 3. He led the team in rushing with 46 yards on 11 carries against Villanova and has also emerged as a threat to catch passes com- ing out of the backfield. At the season's halfway point, he was fourth on the team in rushing with 95 yards. Wilson, meanwhile, has helped solidify the offensive line. The Harvard transfer had battled senior Anthony Whigan throughout preseason practice, and Whigan ended up winning the spot and starting the opener against Wisconsin. But since then, Wilson has been the first- team left guard. With three transfers holding down starting positions and two others contrib- uting on a weekly basis, Franklin recog- nizes the impact that the portal can have as a way to solve the team's most acute problems. "It's really to fill immediate needs," he said. "Maybe you have an injury, maybe you have a guy who just needs another year of development, and it makes more sense for him to be in a complementary role for a year than to be the starter. It helps with that, and it [provides] immediate-impact guys from a veteran and maturity standpoint." — David Eckert Senior running back John Lovett, a transfer from Baylor, has seen his play- ing time steadily increase as the season has gone on. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Franklin On Portal: 'I Wouldn't Say I'm Necessarily A Huge Fan'