Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1454229
1 0 M A R C H 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State landed arguably its top overall transfer portal prospect when Cornell offensive lineman Hunter Nourzad announced on Feb. 7 that he will play for the Nittany Lions. It's no secret that head coach James Franklin and assistant Phil Trautwein have been searching for experienced players to bolster Penn State's offen- sive line. They have pursued a hand- ful of players in the portal this year, but Nourzad was a second-team FCS All- American last season, and the Nittany Lions went all out for him. After entering the portal at the end of November, Nourzad collected 15 offers from FBS schools. By early January, he had trimmed his list to five: Penn State, Au- burn, Illinois, Iowa and Virginia Tech. In the end, it was the three Big Ten programs that gave him the most to think about. "They all had something to offer," Nourzad said. "The whole process was pretty grueling. I didn't expect it to be so mentally taxing, especially at my age and trying to finish up school and get my de- gree. I think it's a little different between high schoolers and grad students. "But it came down to Iowa, Illinois and Penn State. … At the end of the day, it felt right with Penn State. In my head, I felt that if I ended up going to a different school, I might regret not going to Penn State." Nourzad began developing a relation- ship with Trautwein shortly after pick- ing up his offer from Penn State on Dec. 10. Then in January, the Lions took their pursuit to a different level. First, the entire offensive coaching staff joined Franklin on a trip to Nourzad's home in Marietta, Ga. The following week, Trautwein made a second visit, travel- ing back to Georgia from Seattle, where he had been visiting with Vega Ioane, a three-star offensive line prospect who would go on to sign with PSU in Febru- ary. By then, Nourzad had already taken his official visit to Penn State and had liked what he saw and heard. Transfer Lineman To Strengthen PSU's Offensive Front RYAN SNYDER | SNYDER42088@GMAIL.COM NEWS & NOTES A second-team FCS All-American last season, Cornell's Hunter Nourzad will transfer to Penn State in May after choosing the Nittany Lions over Iowa and Illinois. PHOTO COURTEY CORNELL ATHLETICS