The unfortunate reality of modern-day college athletics is that players who sign a national letter of intent to play for a program, it’s hardly the marriage it used to be anymore. Thousands of football players and tens of thousands of overall athletes enter the transfer portal every year, with no limit on the number of transfers. It allows for there to be athletes who play for five different schools in their careers, in rare cases.

Penn State football has, for the most part, been able to avoid the transfer portal being a big part of roster building. James Franklin did an exceptional job of keeping talent in-house, even when backups and rotational players could’ve left for better opportunities. The 2024 team saw the most portal departures, and even that was limited to the team’s backup quarterback, a rotational cornerback, and their starting wide receivers in an offense that didn’t utilize them.

That will change in 2025. With Franklin’s firing in October, it is expected that there will be a small army entering the transfer portal in a similar way to the 19 commits that have reopened their recruitment in the month-plus since.

Regardless of what players are rumored to be saying about Terry Smith, it’s likely that most of the roster either graduates or transfers out this offseason. While players will likely begin to announce their intentions to enter the portal after Penn State plays Rutgers on Saturday to conclude the regular season, the window to actually enter the portal will not be opened until five days after Penn State names its new permanent head coach.

When they do name that head coach, the brain trust will have to figure out what to prioritize externally, but who they have to retain from the 2025 roster, and there’s plenty of talent to choose from. For whoever coaches the Nittany Lions next, here’s who needs to stay.

Offense

Koby Howard: The true freshman has had limited playing time this season with the three senior transfers having a lot invested in his success, but he’s shown an ability to use his speed to get out in open space and provide an open target. Despite not getting a target until November, four of his five catches have gone for a first down, and three of them have gone for 20+. With three more years of eligibility, he has the traits to be a piece for the future.

Andrew Rappleyea: Replacing Tyler Warren was an impossible task for Penn State, but entering 2025, all the attention was on Khalil Dinkins and Luke Reynolds. Initially lost in the shuffle was Rappleyea, the No. 3 tight end in the Class of 2023, who lost his redshirt freshman season to injury. As the season has gone on, Rappleyea has emerged in the tight end rotation as a good pass catcher and a monster blocker. He scored his first career touchdown against Nebraska and has shown good athleticism with the ball. He has two remaining years of eligibility.

Andrew Rappleyea puts @PennStateFball on the board first!

: NBC pic.twitter.com/2zfthlt1m4

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 23, 2025

Cooper Cousins/Malachi Goodman: Unlike Howard and Rappleyea, Cousins and Goodman haven’t seen much time overall this season. Cousins, a true sophomore, competed for a starting job at guard but has seen tough competition for snaps with TJ Shanahan and Anthony Donkoh. With four starting linemen graduating or heading to the NFL, Cousins would be in a great position to start in 2026.

But not only that, Cousins is a great ambassador for the program. He’s represented the program in public much more than the average rotational player, and a lot of that stems from being committed to the university since January 2022. How long ago was that? He committed four weeks after the Outback Bowl against Arkansas.

Goodman has not played as a true freshman, but he was a five-star recruit and is an important player to keep. Since its three five-star haul with the Class of 2022, Goodman is the team’s highest-rated recruit.

Defense

Yvan Kemajou: As the season fell apart following Franklin’s firing, Coach Smith gave out more opportunities for younger players. One of those players was Kemajou, a four-star recruit who’s shown promise at edge rusher. As Smith allowed Kemajou to burn his redshirt, the true freshman has made the most of his opportunities, getting his first career sack against Nebraska. Everyone, from the media to his coaches, has only good things to say about him so far.

Fear the freshman. #WeAre | @Yvan_Kemajou

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— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) November 23, 2025

Chaz Coleman: From the jump, it was clear that Coleman would get the green light to burn his redshirt and contribute as a true freshman, and he’s shown the game-breaking potential to be the next elite edge rusher out of Penn State, even as his availability has been spotty. He hasn’t played since the Nittany Lions’ defeat in Columbus, but he recovered a fumble late in that first half, and Pro Football Focus has graded him as one of the team’s best overall players, even with his youth.

Tony Rojas: There was a chance that Rojas would be heading to the NFL after 2025 after a strong start to his collegiate career, but a serious knee injury suffered prior to the UCLA game ended his season and made him an intriguing case going forward. Rojas’ absence was evident immediately, as the team lacked the linebacker depth to make up for him, and the run defense fell off a cliff, allowing UCLA, Northwestern, and Iowa to run roughshod over the once-stout defense on both designed runs and QB scrambles.

The timing of his injury also allows him to take a redshirt for 2025, meaning he still has two years of eligibility. With so much uncertainty, having a veteran all-conference-level linebacker as part of the foundation is crucial

Amare Campbell: Speaking of all-conference linebackers, the transfer from UNC has been phenomenal since arriving on campus in the now-defunct late transfer portal window. In 11 games, Campbell has 82 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks, and he’s been one of the most consistent players on the roster. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Daryus Dixson: Another true freshman who’s gotten more opportunities as the season has gone on is Dixson, who had a big game in East Lansing against Michigan State with a pass deflection and fumble recovery, but has also forced fumbles against Northwestern and Indiana. With players like Antoine Belgrave-Shorter and AJ Harris banged up the last few weeks, Dixson has emerged as a key contributor in the secondary and is an exciting player going forward.

Special Teams

Ryan Barker: College kickers are anything but reliable, but Penn State has mostly done a good job in getting players who can make the kicks you need them to make. Barker, the hero in last season’s comeback victory against USC, has only missed four field goal attempts in his career and two of them were blocked. He’s hit 87 of 89 extra points in two seasons and is 28-for-30 inside of 50 yards in his career. A reliable kicker is an asset to a football team, and the redshirt sophomore has been that for the last two seasons.