Penn State Sports Magazine
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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M visitors. The Lions also hosted other wideouts who would end up going else- where, such as Romello Brinson (Miami to SMU) and Tyrone Broden (Bowling Green to Arkansas). Carter's flip prompted PSU to make a push for McClain once he entered the portal on Jan. 11. The Daphne, Ala., na- tive had been a four-star prospect in the On3 Consensus coming out of IMG Academy in Florida In the week that followed McClain's entry into the portal, both he and Ce- phas joined the Nittany Lions. Cephas boasts a wealth of experience, having seen action all four years at Kent State. In his last two seasons with the Golden Flashes, he caught 130 passes for 2,984 yards and 11 touchdowns. He will have two seasons of eligibility at Penn State, where he'll be asked to help make up for the departure of the team's top two pass catchers, Parker Washing- ton and Mitchell Tinsley. McClain will also be part of that rebuilding effort. In two seasons at Florida State, he had 33 catches for 396 yards and 5 touchdowns. He'll be on hand for spring practice, having begun classes at PSU in January. Cephas will arrive later this year. The commitments from the two receivers capped a month of mostly positive personnel news for the Nittany Lions. Penn State also pulled graduate cor- nerback Storm Duck and senior special- ists Alex Felkins and Riley Thompson out of the portal. All three enrolled in January. Duck was a second-team All-ACC performer at North Carolina, where he had 3 interceptions and 12 passes defended last fall. A native of Boiling Springs, S.C., he said he entered the portal because he wanted to push him- self to new heights. "My goal going into UNC was to play football and get my degree, and I did that," Duck said. "It was huge for me to get my degree. And as far as my growth, I wanted to have new scenery, be around new people and just challenge myself." Thompson comes to Penn State from Florida Atlantic, where he averaged 45.4 yards on 61 punts last season. A native of Mentone, Australia, he was named a Freshman All-American by The Athletic, but the NCAA considers him a senior because it counts the time he spent at Deakin University in his homeland against his eligibility. He will be on scholarship at Penn State and will compete with redshirt freshman Alex Bacchetta for the starting spot. Felkins was a two-time All-Ivy League placekicker at Columbia. Hailing from Tulsa, Okla., he hit 36 of 54 field goal at- tempts in his three seasons, with his lon- gest make coming from 53 yards. Arriv- ing at PSU as a preferred walk-on, he has two seasons of eligibility remaining and is expected to battle redshirt sophomore Sander Sahaydak for the starting job on placements and kickoffs. In addition to bolstering their 2023 roster via the transfer portal, the Lions learned in early January that two of their top defensive playmakers — junior out- side linebacker Curtis Jacobs and red- shirt senior defensive end Adisa Isaac — plan on returning next fall. Jacobs was the Nittany Lions' third- leading tackler last season with 52 stops, while Isaac led in tackles for loss with 11. "The bonds that I have built with my brothers over the years really made my time here memorable and special," Isaac tweeted on Jan. 8. "They have created many memories that will last a lifetime. With that being said, after careful time and thought with my family, I will be returning to Penn State in 2023." Nate Bauer contributed to this report. Penn State's Offseason Personnel Shuffle COMING Name Pos. Elig.* Ht. Wt. Status Dante Cephas WR R-Sr. 6-1 175 Transferred from Kent State Storm Duck CB Sr. 6-0 200 Transferred from North Carolina Alex Felkins K Sr. 6-3 200 Transferred from Columbia Malik McClain WR Jr. 6-4 200 Transferred from Florida State Riley Thompson P Sr. 6-1 215 Transferred from Florida Atlantic GOING Jamari Buddin LB R-So. 6-2 216 Entered transfer portal; destination TBA Jeffrey Davis CB R-So. 6-0 182 Transferred to Stony Brook Jaden Dottin WR R-Jr. 6-2 198 Entered the transfer portal; destination TBA Bryce Effner OT — 6-5 294 Will forgo final season of eligibility Keyvone Lee RB Jr. 6-0 225 Entered transfer portal; destination TBA Rodney McGraw DT R-So. 6-5 271 Transferred to Louisville Maleek McNeil OL R-Fr. 6-7 355 Entered transfer portal; destination TBA Fatorma Mulbah DT Jr. 6-3 305 Transferred to West Virginia Jake Pinegar K — 6-2 199 Declared for NFL Draft Joey Porter Jr. CB — 6-2 194 Declared for NFL Draft Juice Scruggs C — 6-3 310 Declared for NFL Draft Brenton Strange TE — 6-3 247 Declared for NFL Draft Nick Tarburton DE — 6-3 258 Declared for NFL Draft Christian Veilleux QB R-So. 6-4 202 Transferred to Pitt Parker Washington WR — 5-10 212 Declared for NFL Draft Marquis Wilson CB Sr. 5-11 180 Entered transfer portal; destination TBA RETURNING Keaton Ellis S Sr. 5-11 189 Chose to forgo 2023 NFL Draft Olumuyiwa Fashanu OT Jr. 6-6 308 Chose to forgo 2023 NFL Draft Adisa Isaac DE R-Sr. 6-4 243 Chose to forgo 2023 NFL Draft Curtis Jacobs LB Jr. 6-1 227 Chose to forgo 2023 NFL Draft Hunter Nourzad C/G R-Sr.+ 6-3 312 Chose to forgo 2023 NFL Draft Davon Townley Jr. DT R-So. 6-6 267 Pulled out of portal after entering in December * Eligibility listed is for the 2023 season.