Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534903
M A Y 2 0 2 5 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Wylie still working his way back from a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2024 season. Robinson played in 14 games last year, finishing with 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and an assisted sack. He had re- portedly made some big strides in spring practice, but his bid for more playing time at PSU ended when he entered the portal. On April 22, the Pittsburgh native landed at USC. Robinson's departure erodes Penn State's depth at the linebacker posi- tions. Although the Lions are set to use a 4-2-5 base defense under coordina- tor Jim Knowles, they have been looking to bolster their rotation. Penn State is reportedly among the suitors for North Carolina's Amare Campbell, who had 76 tackles for the Tar Heels last season and is the No. 2 linebacker in the portal this spring. Following the Blue-White Game, Franklin all but hung a "help wanted" sign outside of the Lasch Building. "If there's a linebacker out there who wants to be a part of our program and play for LBU, the most historic linebacker program in the history of college foot- ball, there's an opportunity to join the room," he said. "I think we have enough talent in the room, but getting through a season with potential injuries could be challenging. We're going to look in the portal soon and see if we can find a solution." The Nittany Lions had made one ad- dition to their roster as of April 27, and it came as no surprise. Syracuse receiver Trebor Pena was the only player that Penn State had hosted during the week that followed the portal's opening. He committed to the Nittany Lions on April 26. As a redshirt junior last year, Pena was a second-team All-ACC choice after leading the conference with 84 catches for 941 yards and 9 touch- downs. The Ocean Township, N.J., na- tive appeared in all 13 games and made 10 starts. He also averaged 8.0 yards on 15 punt returns. Listed at 6-foot, 184 pounds, Pena was being pursued by Miami, USC and UCLA in addition to Penn State. Syr- acuse coach Fran Brown had hoped to retain him, but as he explained to Cuse- SportsTalk.com, the realities of the NIL economy were working against the Or- ange. "We paid him enough. He was going to be paid more," Brown said. "There were some numbers that were asked of me that I didn't feel I would be able to do, and we had to move on." Prior to Pena's commitment, the Li- ons were said to be interested in Keelan Marion of BYU. As a redshirt junior with the Cougars last year, Marion caught 24 passes for 346 yards and a touchdown. On the same day that Pena joined PSU, Marion committed to Miami. In addition, On3 reported that Penn State was involved with Ted Hurst of Georgia State. The 6-3, 185-pound rising senior made a team-best 56 catches for 961 yards and 9 touchdowns last year and won second-team All-Sun Belt Confer- ence honors. The list of schools that have been pursuing him includes Miami, Lou- isville, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas and Washington. With few high-level receivers avail- able in the portal this spring, the price of acquiring such players has skyrocketed. According to On3's Pete Nakos, wideouts can command as much as $1.2 million. "The wide receiver market is com- pletely out of whack," one source told On3. Penn State has most of the pieces in place to make a championship run this fall but has been looking to bolster a wide receiver corps that returns only one player with more than 2 catches last season. The Lions acquired two re- ceivers during the winter transfer win- dow in seniors Kyron Hudson, formerly of USC, and Devonte Ross, formerly of Troy. Both reportedly impressed in spring practice, but as position coach Marques Hagans said recently, "We could always use help." "The objective is to be the best in the country at every position, and we're working to become that," Hagans said. "Until we become that, then yes, we do need help at receiver. "We've just got to keep building the room the right way, bringing in the right guys, and then when the opportunity presents, we've got to perform at a high level." Sean Fitz, Nate Bauer and Greg Pickel contributed to this report ■ PENN STATE'S SPRING TRANSFER MOVES COMING Name Pos. Elig. Ht. Wt. Transfer Status Trebor Pena WR R-Sr. 6-0 184 Arriving from Syracuse GOING Beckham Dee LB R-Fr. 6-1 229 Destination TBD Chase Meyer PK Sr. 5-10 181 Destination TBD Jon Mitchell CB R-Fr. 5-11 195 Signed with Georgia Tech Joseph Mupoyi DT R-So. 6-5 261 Signed with North Carolina JB Nelson OL R-Sr. 6-5 326 Signed with Kansas State Ta'Mere Robinson LB R-So. 6-3 223 Signed with USC Receiver Trebor Pena committed to Penn State on April 26. Playing for Syracuse last year, he had an ACC-best 84 catches, totaling 941 yards and 9 touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY TREBOR PENA