Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
3 6 M A R C H 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 2 6 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / quickly became the team's third running back. He's good enough as a runner but failed to make plays behind a below-av- erage run-blocking offensive line. The per-carry numbers, broken tackles, and yards after contact are all adequate but don't equate to an explosive profile. The only Penn State runner who pres- ents any dynamic traits at the position is a returnee, redshirt sophomore Quinton Martin Jr. That's not necessarily a prob- lem, provided the Lions can find other ways to be explosive. Grade: B- Tight End We give Penn State high marks for retaining its key tight end, redshirt ju- nior Andrew Rappleyea. That was a high priority for the offensive staff upon ar- rival, and they were able to hold onto redshirt freshman Brian Kortovich, too. Beyond that, the Lions imported their 2026 tight ends from Iowa State, wel- coming seniors Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle, and redshirt sophomore Cooper Alexander. Overall, this group is solid. They lack the run-blocking skills to be elite, but they will drive the offense next year. Despite losing former five-star recruit Andrew Olesh to Oregon, the tight ends should still be productive. Grade: B Wide Receiver We start with a B for bringing over redshirt senior Chase Sowell and junior Brett Eskildsen from Iowa State. The duo is physically talented but struggled with consistency last year, thanks par- tially to drops and partially to injury problems at quarterback. Penn State also looked into adding some highly talented receivers from outside the relationship bubble, in- cluding Ohio State's Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham, and NC State's Noah Rogers. All three went elsewhere, so Penn State picked up redshirt sopho- more Keith Jones Jr. from Grambling. At 6-foot-4, 208 pounds, Jones fits the coaches' template and was worth taking a chance on. Still, it would have been nice to land one of those Buckeyes. Grade: B- Offensive Line It's nearly impossible to convince a quality left tackle to join a team without a guarantee of a starting opportunity. The Nittany Lions retained their young and talented offensive line depth, so it was unrealistic to think they were get- ting another tackle. On the interior, the Lions got what they needed in redshirt junior Trevor Buhr of Iowa State and then secured one of the top centers in the portal, redshirt sophomore Brock Riker of Texas State. They also dug deep to find redshirt ju- nior Tyshon Huff of Division II Tiffin. The addition of Riker lifts this grade above our baseline B for Iowa State in- fusions. Grade: B+ Overall Campbell's approach on this side of the ball involved bringing in Iowa State starters along with the offensive coaching staff. With so many familiar faces operating key aspects of the game plan, this group should be able to hit the ground running in the spring. The Nittany Lions also were able to retain key players from the 2025 roster, nota- bly Rappleyea, Martin and sophomore receiver Koby Howard. The failure, if you can call it that, is that the staff did not accentuate the skill positions with more proven, explosive talent or build more depth on the of- fensive line. Both would have been hard to pull off, given the obvious intent to rely heavily on Iowa State players. While Penn State has a chance to be explo- sive thanks to its scheme and starting receivers, the overall depth of athleti- cism is thin. The backfield lacks explo- sive talent, and the receivers behind the starting duo are young and unproven. Grade: B+ ■ Redshirt junior Trevor Buhr — the No. 13 interior offensive lineman in the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings — earned honor- able mention All-Big 12 honors last fall despite missing the first four games with an illness. PHOTO COURTESY IOWA STATE ATHLETICS