PSU Football
Jan. 2026 Portal Tracker/Arrivals
Transfer Portal Opens—Jan. 2 through Jan. 16, 2026
New Players Arriving at Penn State from Transfer Portal (38 total)
PSU has $20.5 million cap for shared all-sports athletic revenue & $30 million budget for NIL in football
RETURN TO PORTAL PLAYER TRACKER MAIN PAGE
Benjamin Brahmer TE—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 3 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 37 receptions for 446 yards, 6 TDs
Will Tompkins OT—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 3 with 4 years of eligibility remaining
Marcus Neal S—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 2 years of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 77 tackles/40 solo, 2 INTs, 1 Fumble recovery, 1 sack
Greg Burkle TE—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 1 year of eligibility remaining
Rocco Becht QB—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—enters 2026 season with 26 career wins as starting QB—2025 stats: 205 of 339 passing for 2584 yards, 16 TDs, 9 INTs (with 8 rushing TDs)—seven 200+ yard passing games (two 300+ yard games)—Note: Becht is son of former NFL & West Virginia (1995-99) TE Anthony Becht who is a PA-native and current head coach of the UFL’s Orlando Storm—Injury update: Rocco had surgery on non-throwing shoulder (partial labrum tear) and will likely not be ready for practice until mid-April (also has AC sprain in throwing shoulder)
Kuol Kuol OT—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 4 years of eligibility remaining
Karon Brookins WR—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 4 years of eligibility remaining—Note: Brookins high school coach at Winslow Twp., NJ was former PSU RB Bill Belton (2011-14)
Alex Manske QB—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 4 years of eligibility remaining
Kooper Ebel LB—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 77 tackles, 1 sack
Brett Eskildsen WR—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 2 years of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 30 receptions for 526 yards, 5 TDs
Carsen Hansen RB—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 197 for 950 yards, 6 TDs
Cael Brezina LB—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 2 years of eligibility remaining
Caleb Bacon LB—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 1 year of eligibility remaining
Trevor Buhr OG—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 2 years of eligibility remaining—made 12 starts over past 2 seasons at ISU
Alijah Carnell DT—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 4 with 3 years of eligibility remaining
Chase Sowell WR—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 5 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—played only 1 season at ISU, was at East Carolina (2023-24) & Colorado (2022) prior to ISU
Jamison Patton S—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 5 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 2 INTs
Hunter Sowell S—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 5 with 4 years of eligibility remaining—younger brother of Chase Sowell WR
Zay Robinson WR—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 5 with 4 years of eligibility remaining
Keanu Williams DT—UCLA—committed to PSU on Jan. 5 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—was at Oregon (2021-22) prior to transferring to UCLA in 2023 (took medical redshirt in 2024)—2025 stats: 39 tackles/17 solo in 11 starts, only 1.5 career sacks (2 of his tackles came in the UCLA win over PSU)—was first non-Iowa State PSU portal commit & 20th commit overall after 19 straight Cyclone commits—Followed Ikaika Malloe DL Coach from UCLA to PSU
Vaea Ikakoula OT—Iowa State—committed to PSU on Jan. 6 with 4 years of eligibility remaining
Alexander McPherson DE—Colorado—committed to PSU on Jan. 6 with 3 years of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 16 tackles, 6 QB hurries, 1 blocked punt as true Freshman
Armstrong Nnodim DT—Oklahoma State—committed to PSU on Jan. 6 with 3 years of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 11 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack
James Peoples RB—Ohio State—committed to PSU on Jan. 6 with 2 years of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 61 rushes for 344 yards, 3 TDs (4 carries for 19 yards, 1 reception for 4 yards in win over PSU)
Hunter Albright OL—St. Francis Univ. (FCS)—committed to PSU as a Preferred Walk-on (PWO) on Jan. 8 with possibly 4 years of eligibility remaining—St. Francis is dropping from FCS to Div. 3 football in 2026
Dallas Vakalahi DT—Utah—Per On3, committed to PSU on Jan. 8 with 2 years of eligibility remaining
Omarion Davis S/CB—Boston College—committed to PSU on Jan. 8 with 3 years of eligibility remaining
Siale Taupaki DT—UCLA—Per CBS Sports, committed to PSU on Jan. 8 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—will be 8th year senior—Taupaki enrolled at UCLA in 2019—Redshirt in 2019, Covid year 2020, Medical Redshirt in 2021, & NCAA waiver for 2022 after playing only 2 games prior to season-ending injury—Played OL in 2023 and DL in 2024 & 2025—Followed Ikaika Malloe DL Coach from UCLA to PSU
Ibn McDaniels CB—Syracuse—Announced on social media that he committed to PSU on Jan. 9 with 3 years of eligibility remaining
Cooper Alexander TE—Iowa State—Announced on social media that he committed to PSU on Jan. 9 with 3 years of eligibility remaining
Brock Riker C—Texas State—Announced on social media that he committed to PSU on Jan. 9 with 3 years of eligibility remaining—was 2025 2nd Team Freshman All-America as Redshirt Freshman center
Chris Fileppo S—West Virginia—Announced on social media that he committed to PSU on Jan. 10 with 3 years of eligibility remaining
Jeremiah Cooper S/CB—Iowa State—Announced on social media that he committed to PSU on Jan. 11 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—recovering from torn ACL in 2025 season (played only 4 games)—was 1st Team All-Big 12 in 2023 (8 career INTs)
Nathan Tiyce P—Mississippi State—Per BWI/On3, committed to PSU on Jan. 12 with 3 years of eligibility remaining—25-year-old native of Australia who first kicked an American football at a Prokick Australia tryout in 2023—had played rugby in Australia and worked on a farm for 5 years after 2 years of college in Australia—2025 stats: 12 punts as backup at MSU, long of 54 yards, 2 punts of 50+ yards (vs. Texas & at Arkansas), 7 punts inside 20 (5 fair catches), 39.0 yards per punt avg.—has enrolled at PSU for spring semester and will compete with incoming Freshman recruit Lucas Tenbrock for the starting job in 2026—he is the third Australian punter at PSU along with Riley Thompson (2023-25) & Daniel Pasquariello (2014-17)
Keith Jones Jr. WR—Grambling—Announced on social media that he committed to PSU on Jan. 12 with 3 years of eligibility remaining—2025 stats: 31 receptions for 438 yards, 4 TDs
Tyshon Huff OT/OG—Tiffin Univ. (Div. 2)—Announced on social media that he committed to PSU on Jan. 12 with 2 years of eligibility remaining
Cristiano Rosa PK—James Madison Univ.—Announced on social media that he committed to PSU on Jan. 14 with 1 year of eligibility remaining—Rosa is a kickoff specialist who averaged 63 yards per kick in 2025—played 2 years at JMU after spending two seasons at Central Connecticut
Ikenna Ezeogu DE/DT—Iowa State—BWI/On3 reported that he committed to PSU on Jan. 14 with 1 year of eligibility remaining after his name appeared in the student directory for the spring semester—Ezeogu later confirmed his transfer on social media on Jan. 14—He started all 12 games for the Cyclones in 2025 with career high 25 tackles (3 career sacks)
