It’s been a whirlwind of a couple days for Penn State since the transfer portal officially opened. In previous years, we knew the Nittany Lions were looking at a 5-10 man portal class, usually concentrated on certain positions. This year, not so much that at all. Penn State’s transfer portal class will pretty easily be 30+ guys and they will come in from all positions.
For this post, we are going to focus on what we know — guys who are committed, expected to commit, visited, or are scheduled to visit. I’ll have a longer post on “intriguing” options for tomorrow, but I wanted this post to get us caught up on the happenings the last 48 hours.
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Penn State Lands TE Benjamin Brahmer
Ryan Parsons had the writeup when Brahmer made the call, but while this one was expected for Penn State, that doesn’t or shouldn’t lessen the importance of landing Brahmer. The Nittany Lions will continue to use their tight ends a lot under offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser so having Andrew Rappleyea and Brahmer as the starting tight end pairing heading into 2026 is muy bueno. They complement each other quite well with Rappleyea being more of the classic inline blocking tight end and Brahmer being the new-age receiver flex.
OL Will Tompkins Commits To Penn State
The second Cyclone to make the call for Penn State is Will Tompkins, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman. He was one of the more highly-ranked kids in Iowa State’s program — On3 ranked him as the 245th prospect in the 2025 class. He redshirted this past season for the Cyclones, meaning he’ll have four seasons of eligibility left. Much needed depth on the offensive line.
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Penn State Predictions For Iowa State Trio
The ISU-to-PSU pipeline is just getting started. Three other Cyclones have received Penn State predictions from the powers that be at 247Sports and Rivals/On3:
QB, Rocco Becht: The new QB1. Pete Thamel literally had an update on Becht and Penn State minutes after the portal officially opened. It’s a matter of when, not if, Becht makes the call for Penn State.
RB, Carson Hansen: 6-foot-2, 220-pound rising senior running back who has 1,704 rushing yards on 5 YPC and 19 rushing TDs the last two seasons in Ames. Also, a nice receiver out of the backfield; 19 receptions this past season.
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S, Marcus Neal: I gave elongated thoughts on Neal a few days back, but will say again: maybe the best pure football player on the Iowa State team. Plays a crucial role as the “STAR” safety that essentially acts as an extra linebacker.
Happy Valley Tourism Group
Players who are currently visiting or are scheduled to visit.
Alex Manske (Iowa State, QB): Opinions varied on Mankse as a 2025 prospect — 247 had him as three-star, while On3 had him as the 8th ranked QB and the 55th best overall prospect — but it’s clear Matt Campbell and his staff liked him. He was viewed as the heir apparent for Becht at Iowa State, and will likely be viewed in the same light here.
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Chase Sowell (Iowa State, WR): Another guy I mentioned earlier this week, but a big-play wide receiver with great size at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds. He’s kind of similar to Trey Wallace, which might have been an insult last year this time but is now a compliment after his Sugar Bowl performance.
Brett Eskildsen (Iowa State, WR): Burner. Ran a 10.52 100M in high school. For reference, Journey Brown ran a 10.42. Has two years of eligibility remaining after a 30 recs./526 yards/5 TDs season as a sophomore.
Zay Robinson (Iowa State, WR): True freshman originally from Iowa. Iowa State beat out Iowa, Kansas State, Missouri, and Vanderbilt for his services. Didn’t see much time this year, playing in just 2 games to preserve his redshirt.
Karon Brookins (Iowa State, WR): Another true frosh wide receiver, this one from New Jersey where he played his senior season at Winslow Township for Bill Belton. Big kid at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds.
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Kuol Kuol (Iowa State, OT): Super intriguing offensive tackle prospect who just wrapped up his first season with the Cyclones. He was listed 6-foot-6, 250 pounds as a high school senior, but is already up to 290 pounds. Checks the boxes for the build you’re looking for for an offensive tackle.
Vaea Ikakoula (Iowa State, OG): Hawaii-native that was committed to Stanford at one point before flipping to Iowa State on early NSD 2024. Redshirted this past season, but did see action in four games which shows what the current Penn State staff thinks of him. Big kid at 6-foot-3, 355 pounds.
Jamison Patton (Iowa State, S): Big safety at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. Has been a contributor at Iowa State since his freshman season, seeing over 160 snaps during all three seasons. Was a full-time starter this past season. As his size indicates, stronger against the run than he is in coverage.
LJ Phillips Jr. (South Dakota, RB): Dominate FCS running back. Ran for 1,920 yards and 19 touchdowns this past season. A torn ACL in high school pushed him to the FCS, but he has FBS talent. Impressive, squaty build at 5-foot-9, 225 pounds that allows him to bounce off tacklers. Solid speed and quickness, and a guy who stays north-south as much as possible.
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Jaylon Domingeaux (SE Louisiana, WR): He is from Louisiana and yes that is somehow his real last name. It’d be like a kid from Philly with the last name “Jawnson.” Anyway, he had some nice stats at FCS SE Louisiana — 52 receptions, 857 yards, and 11 touchdowns. The 16.5 yards-per-catch sticks out in particular for those who make the FCS-to-FBS jump.
Trent Fraley (North Dakota State, OC): Yes, Hank Fraley’s son. Went to high school in Moon Township, PA. Started his career at Marshall before transferring to North Dakota State, where he just had an All-American season. Michigan State, Florida State, and Iowa State also getting visits.
Joe Hjelle (Tulsa, DT): Productive player for Tulsa this past season, finishing the year with 46 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 4.5 TFLs. Grades out very highly (82.0) for his run defense according to PFF. Good size at 6-foot-3, 300 pounds. Indiana and Wisconsin the other two schools currently in the picture.
Cody Sigler (Arkansas State, DT): Another standout according to PFF, finishing with a run defense grade of 84.2. Had 5 sacks and 7 TFLs for the Red Wolves this season. Lots of big time programs after him include Auburn, Oklahoma, and Florida State.
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Xion Chapman (FIU, DT): Originally from Allentown, Chapman started his college career at Lackawanna JUCO before spending a season at FIU. He was a rotational starter for the Panthers in 2025, putting up 15 tackles, 2 sacks, and 3 TFLs on the year. At 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, he has the physical profile you’d like but he’s still a pretty raw player and has already used his redshirt.
Oumar Diomande (UConn, LB): Personal favorite of mine. Extremely productive at UConn with 116 tackles, 5 sacks, and 8 TFLs in 2025. Originally from New York. North Carolina, Northwestern, SMU, and Colorado State (where Jim Mora Jr. went) also scheduled to get visits.
Noah King (Colorado, DB): Composite four-star kid from Ohio in the 2025 class who enrolled at Kansas State in January 2025 but transferred to Colorado by the end of April. Was listed as a corner by the Buffs, but believe he’s being targeted as a safety by the Penn State staff. Good size at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds.
Sean Kinney (Lafayette, OC): Okay, this one isn’t a visit yet but Lafayette interior lineman Sean Kinney received a Penn State offer when the portal opened for both football and wrestling. As a football player, Kinney is an All-Patriot League center that has two years of eligibility left. As a wrestler, he went 125-5 at Nazareth en route to three PIAA heavyweight titles. Personally, “Penn State football player and wrestler” seems too good to pass up for a PA native, but we’ll see.
