James Franklin’s Woes Get 1,309-Yard Portal Fix After Penn State’s Alarming Roster Gap Exposed

James Franklin has his work cut out as he steps into the 2025 season. Despite having some great players on his roster last season, like Abdul Carter, he still lost the games that demanded more. Franklin is also staring at a roster that lacks eye-catching names, as some have either gone pro or exhausted their years of eligibility. The Nittany Lions’ O-line was significantly struggling last year, even with that 13-3 finish. Can Franklin devise a solution for this issue by dipping into the transfer portal?

The WR room was a huge cause of concern for Penn State last year. In the Orange Bowl, not one of them could record a catch. Their job had to be picked up by the tight ends and running backs. Tyler Warren, the only other star on offense, caught more passes than all of the wide receivers combined in 2024. Liam Clifford’s 107 yards in the UCLA game was the last 100-yarder made by the WRs. Warren has declared for the draft. Trey Wallace and Omari Evans, who also performed well in the initial phases of the game, have transferred out.

James Franklin is now actively working to fix the room. In the last portal cycle, he got Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross. This time, Franklin might be looking at another prospect who brings with him some serious game. Penn State recently hosted former Syracuse WR Trebor Pena, who had a great season last year. He entered the portal with one year of eligibility remaining. He became Kyle McCord’s top option in the 2024 season, producing 941 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Penn State hosted Syracuse wide receiver transfer Trebor Pena on Friday. What’s the latest? @SeanFitzOn3 with notes on the visit.

Trimmings: https://t.co/4FlfqD0vMa

Join BWI today: https://t.co/ur2LZJUpXS pic.twitter.com/u8Ql78Ggum

— Blue White Illustrated (@PennStateOn3) April 19, 2025

Landon Tengwall of Behind The Wall explains how he could be of use at Penn State. “Now, the other piece of where I think he can be a big game changer if he were to come to Penn State is the gadget playability that Pena offers. So when I’m watching his tape, tons of screens, orbit motions, end-arounds; he’s constantly in motion on their offense,” he said. Also, Tengwall thinks this particular aspect of Pena makes him a great replacement for Warren.

“Tyler Warren was Penn State’s gadget guy, and now that’s gone,” Tengwall said. “[Majority] of our screen passes gadget plays, they went to Warren… I was sitting there kind of thinking back on it. I was like, ‘Did we throw any wide receiver screens last year?’”

Franklin had said ahead of the 2024 season that the WR room looked very promising on the roster. However, that held up only until the initial phase of the season. Their abilities started diminishing from then on. Clifford will turn up for another season with Penn State. OC Andy Kotelnicki was also “pleased” with how transfer additions Ross and Hudson have been doing in spring practice. If Pena does land at Penn State, hopes might be looking up for James Franklin for this room. However, that’s just one of the many issues in his roster.

James Franklin has more roster problems to address

On the other side of the ball, too, Franklin has some glaring problems. Defensive tackles Dvon J-Thomas, Hakeem Beamon, and Coziah Izzard have left camp. In 2024, Penn State’s defense was one of the best and some of its key players, like Dani Dennis-Suttons and Zane Durant, are returning. However, a Penn State insider thinks there’s still cause for concern for Franklin.

Greg Pickel sounded a serious alarm, saying, “If there was a meter here, you know, a red, yellow, green meter, mine would be teetering a little bit towards the red.” Izzard and Thomas were involved in a total of 66 tackles, allowing talents like Abdul Carter and Suttons to play to their best. “I’m getting a little bit of the bad vibes from the fact that we’re talking about freshmen and we’re talking about guys that have never played before that are going to get in too deep.” It’s more of a mix of the old and new when it comes to Penn State’s 2025 defense. New DC Jim Knowles, however, is confident with his team.

Knowles, fresh off the National Championship victory in 2025, left Ohio State to take the reins at Penn State. This is the third time the Nittany Lions will see a new DC in the past four seasons. But, along with great talents like Durant, there are also other returning names like Smith Vilbert, who can pose some doubt. The latter, despite his limited action, can be an option in the replacement talks for Carter, according to Sports Illustrated.

James Franklin has a lot to worry about when it comes to the 2025 roster. The veteran coach cannot have another almost successful season after narrowly missing a better finish in 2024. Will he be able to fix his glaring WR problems and improve the potential of his defensive line in 2025?

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