Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534903
1 0 M A Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M W hen it comes to the biannual transfer portal windows, one of Penn State's primary goals is to avoid being caught off-guard. That's hard to do in a world where play- ers have virtually unlimited mobility ev- ery time the portal opens, as it did April 16-25. But Penn State coach James Frank- lin and his staff have tried to keep the lines of communication open in the hope that they will be aware of any movement be- fore it happens. "It's really a 'no surprises' discussion," he said. "If the players have any issues or concerns, we want them to come in and talk to us. … That was addressed be- fore the first window. That was addressed before this window. Everybody is on the same page. "I meet with the players a lot, and there needs to be communication, a two-way street. We're not having meetings during spring ball, but there needs to be com- munication." For coaches, that means letting players know exactly where they stand. For play- ers, family members and representatives, it means providing more than a last-min- ute heads-up before leaving the program. Penn State ended up seeing four schol- arship players depart during the spring window: redshirt senior offensive line- man JB Nelson, redshirt freshman cor- nerback Jon Mitchell, redshirt sophomore linebacker Ta'Mere Robinson and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Joseph Mu- poyi. In addition, two walk-ons are leav- ing: senior placekicker Chase Meyer and redshirt freshman linebacker Beckham Dee. Of the departing players, Nelson and Robinson appeared poised to have the most significant impact in 2025. A versatile player capable of filling in at guard or tackle, Nelson had been com- peting for the starting right guard spot. His exit means that sophomore Cooper Cousins is all but certain to start. Cousins played in all 16 games for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman last sea- son. The former five-star prospect played both guard spots and center this spring and was in line to increase his rep count regardless of Nelson's status in 2025. Nelson started eight games in 2023 in what ended up being the most produc- tive of his three years at Penn State. He preserved a redshirt in 2022 after arriving from Lackawanna College with four years to play three. On the defensive side of the ball, Rob- inson was another year removed from the knee injury that cost him his senior season at Brashear High and limited him to just three game appearances as a true fresh- man in 2023. He appeared destined for an expanded role this fall, which is why his exit caught many observers off-guard. It seemed like an exception to Franklin's push for more transparency. Last year's starter at middle linebacker, Kobe King, is headed to the NFL, and the Lions were thin at the position this spring, with junior Tony Rojas on the shelf for health reasons and redshirt junior Keon NEWS & NOTES LIONS LOSE SIX, BUT GAIN WIDEOUT DURING TRANSFER WINDOW M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Offensive lineman JB Nelson had been vying with sophomore Cooper Cousins for the starting right guard position but is headed to Kansas State after three seasons at PSU. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT