Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
M A R C H 2 0 2 6 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T R A N S F E R S / / / / / / / P enn State added 18 scholarship offensive transfers in January, with 14 of those players heading to State College after having previously played for Matt Campbell and his staff at Iowa State. Let's take a closer look at the Nittany Lions' work and grade their moves. Quarterback Penn State found its starter in redshirt senior Rocco Becht, the most promi- nent of the Iowa State expats to rejoin Campbell at his new school. The Nit- tany Lions identified what they wanted from the position and made it happen, regardless of how easy or difficult the sales job was. To complement that ad- dition, PSU also brought in another Cy- clone, redshirt freshman backup Alex Manske, and landed senior Connor Barry, a Division III All-American last year at Christopher Newport University. Barry will be a walk-on at PSU. Even with three transfers in the fold, the position group is alarmingly thin on experience. That's the reality of col- lege football now, but it's also a signifi- cant concern for Penn State, which at least had two quality quarterbacks who could play and win games on the roster last season. Whether they have that this year is entirely unknown. Grade: A- Running Back Senior Carson Hansen joined the Great Cyclone Migration of 2026, pre- sumably picking up the starting man- tle from Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. However, the Nittany Lions' second running back from the portal, junior James Peoples, is the wild card here. Peoples lost his job to freshman Bo Jackson at Ohio State last season and Will Tompkins | OL R-Fr. | 6-5 | 300 Iowa State | Cedar Falls, Iowa On3 Transfer Portal Ranking: HHH, No. 95 OT Rivals Industry Ranking (2025): HHH, No. 34 OT Tompkins did not register any snaps for the Cyclones dur- ing his freshman season after suffering a knee injury prior to the start of the campaign. He'll have four years of eligibility remaining with the Nittany Lions after using his redshirt. Prior to his season in Ames, Tompkins was a three-star prospect at Cedar Falls (Iowa) High. He made the Des Moines Register's All-Iowa Elite Team after helping the Tigers total more than 1,900 rushing yards and 1,600 passing yards during his senior year. ■ Nate Bauer and Sean Fitz contributed to this report. PORTAL GRADES OFFENSE Nittany Lions get a talent infusion from Matt Campbell's former school T H O M A S F R A N K C A R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M Running back Carson Hansen led Iowa State with 950 yards rushing last season, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches. PHOTO COURTESY IOWA STATE ATHLETICS