Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
M A R C H 2 0 2 6 3 3 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 / / / / / / / 1,036 snaps for Iowa State at left guard. He was an honor- able mention All-Big 12 pick last fall despite missing four games early in the season due to an illness. With Buhr back in the lineup, the Cyclones surpassed 150 rushing yards in their final seven games, the team's longest such streak since 2008-09. Before heading to Ames in 2023, he was a standout two- way lineman at Washington (Mo.) High, totaling 49 tackles and 10 sacks as a senior. Gabe Burkle | TE R-Sr. | 6-6 | 255 Iowa State | Cedar Rapids, Iowa On3 Transfer Portal Ranking: HHH, No. 8 TE Rivals Industry Ranking (2022): HHH, No. 79 TE Burkle suffered a season-ending injury against TCU last November, but before getting hurt, he saw action on 482 snaps, finishing with 26 receptions for 302 yards and a touchdown for Iowa State. In a 41-27 loss to BYU in October, he caught 5 passes for 44 yards. The 6-6, 255-pounder posted similar season stats as a redshirt sophomore in 2024, totaling 26 receptions for 296 yards and 1 score. A three-star prospect coming out of Prairie High in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he picked the Cyclones over Michigan State and Indiana and went on to make his first college start as a redshirt freshman in 2023. Brett Eskildsen | WR Jr. | 6-1 | 200 Iowa State | Frisco, Texas On3 Transfer Portal Ranking: HHH, No. 47 WR Rivals Industry Ranking (2024): HHH, No. 146 WR Seeing action in all 12 games and starting seven, Eskildsen led Iowa State with 526 receiving yards last season. His 30 catches ranked third on the team, and his 5 receiving touch- downs ranked second. Eskildsen's position coach at the time, Noah Pauley, said the former three-star prospect from Frisco, Texas, has enough versatility to play any wide receiver position. "Brett has done a really good job of understanding all three spots, which helped him get on the field [as a true fresh- man]," Pauley said. "He's fast enough to win on the outside, big and strong enough to win on the inside." Carson Hansen | RB Sr. | 6-2 | 220 Iowa State | Lakeville, Minn. On3 Transfer Portal Ranking: HHH, No. 24 RB Rivals Industry Ranking (2023): HHH, No. 36 ATH Hansen rushed 187 times for 950 yards and a team-high 6 touchdowns last fall, earning second-team All-Big 12 hon- ors. A native of Lakeville, Minn., Hansen had six 100-yard games, including the last five games of Iowa State's cam- paign. That streak began with an outburst against BYU in which he rushed for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns on only 16 carries. A former three-star prospect from Lakeville South, Han- sen enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore, amassing 752 yards and 13 touchdowns on 151 carries. Tyshon Huff | OL R-Jr. | 6-4 | 300 Tiffin | Cincinnati, Ohio On3 Transfer Portal Ranking: HHH, No. 214 OT Rivals Industry Ranking (2023): N/R Huff spent the past three seasons at Division II Tiffin. He redshirted his first season, then played in one game for the Dragons in 2024. His breakout came last fall when he started 11 games, playing both guard and tackle. He allowed only 1 sack during his first season as a college starter. Because Division II doesn't have a defined transfer win- dow, Huff was able to enter the portal in late November. He took official visits to Buffalo, Troy and Wyoming before checking out Penn State and committing to the Lions. Vaea Ikakoula | OL R-Fr. | 6-3 | 355 Iowa State | Laie, Hawai'i On3 Transfer Portal Ranking: HHH, No. 196 IOL Rivals Industry Ranking (2025): HHH, No. 124 IOL Ikakoula began his prep football career at Kahuku High in his native Hawai'i before transferring to West High in Salt Lake City for his final two seasons. A three-star prospect, he received more than a dozen scholarship offers before com- mitting to Stanford in June 2024. The 6-3, 355-pound interior lineman ended up flipping to Iowa State just before signing day and went on to play in four games last fall. Although he totaled just 45 snaps in his true freshman season, he started the Cyclones' last two games, opening as an extra lineman against Kansas and Oklahoma State. Keith Jones Jr. | WR R-So. | 6-4 | 208 Grambling | New Orleans, La. On3 Transfer Portal Ranking: HHH, No. 153 WR Rivals Industry Ranking (2024): N/R The New Orleans native signed with Grambling as a three- star prospect coming out of Edna Karr High in 2024. Follow- ing a redshirt season, he emerged as a key playmaker last fall, totaling 32 receptions for 450 yards and 5 touchdowns. When Jones visited Penn State in January after entering the portal, he checked in at 6-4, 208 pounds — more than 20 pounds above his listed weight of 185 at Grambling. Cincin- nati and Stanford were the other two Power Four programs that took an interest in him, but Jones opted to sign with the Nittany Lions.