Update, 3:20 p.m.:

Joey Schlaffer tells On3 he plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Original Post

Penn State football tight end Joey Schlaffer is no longer on the program’s roster as of Wednesday morning, Penn State Athletics confirmed to Onward State. Penn State On3 reported it first.

Schlaffer can’t enter his name into the transfer portal until after the season, but he will not spend the rest of the Nittany Lions’ season repping the blue and white. After a rule change in early October, the only transfer portal of the year opens on January 2, 2026.

Schlaffer is the first Penn State player to leave the Nittany Lions since James Franklin’s firing. The Reading, Pennsylvania, native has been with the team since the 2023 season. He made just six appearances in that time, with his one reception standing as a 19-yard touchdown against Villanova in week three.

The tight end was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, per the 247 Composite rankings. He was the No. 6 player in Pennsylvania, No. 17 tight end, and No. 308 nationally, according to the same metric.

Schlaffer had offers from schools such as Arizona State, Boston College, Maryland, and Tennessee before committing to Penn State. He will join his next team with two years of eligibility remaining.