Texas State center Brock Riker, a Freshman All-America second-team selection, announced early Saturday morning that he’s transferring to Penn State.
Also early Saturday morning, Cooper Alexander became the third Iowa State tight end to declare he will play for the Nittany Lions, following Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle.
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Friday night, Syracuse safety Ibn McDaniels announced he’s transferring to Penn State.
Those three gave the Lions 31 players who are transferring from other schools.
The 6-4, 290-pound Riker, a redshirt freshman, started every regular season game this season for Texas State. He did not play in the Armed Forces Bowl against Rice after he announced he would enter the transfer portal.
Alabama, Oklahoma, Illinois, South Carolina, Florida and North Carolina also offered Riker an opportunity to transfer. He was rated the sixth-best interior offensive lineman in the portal by On3. He was considered a four-star prospect coming out of Brock High School in Brock, Texas.
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Alexander, a 6-4, 245-pound redshirt freshman from Washington, Okla., played in 11 games this season and caught five passes for 47 yards. He played in one game in 2024 before sustaining a season-ending injury.
His father, Stephen Alexander, played 10 seasons in the NFL for four teams as a tight end after Washington made him a second-round draft pick in 1998 out of Oklahoma.
McDaniels, a 6-3, 205-pound redshirt freshman from Elizabeth, N.J., played in 11 games as a reserve for Syracuse and had two tackles. He was rated a three-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Two Penn State players announced Saturday they would stay, one after changing his mind.
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Running back Cam Wallace had put his name in the transfer portal, but he said he will return. Wallace, a 5-9, 208-pound redshirt sophomore, played sparingly in 2025, carrying six times for 23 yards and catching one pass for 12 yards. He suffered a season-ending injury in the third game in 2024.
Defensive end Dayshaun Burnett, a 6-3, 223-pound freshman from Pittsburgh, announced he will stay after he didn’t see game action in 2025.
With Wallace and Burnett, 33 Penn State players from the 2025 roster have indicated they’re returning.
Four Penn State players who had been in the portal have announced their commitments to other schools.
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Safety Dejuan Lane and defensive end Chaz Coleman said Saturday they will transfer to Tennessee and join linebacker Amare Campbell, who committed late Friday night. The three of them will reunite with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam, who committed earlier to the Vols.
Quarterback Jaxon Smolik, who suffered a season-ending injury in October at Iowa, announced that he’s transferring to Temple, where he’ll join former Penn State tight end Joey Schlaffer.
