Through all of the high-profile transfers that Penn State football landed in the wake of Matt Campbell’s hiring, there’s one defender who is more than meets the eye: sophomore defensive end Alexander McPherson.

McPherson opted to join the Nittany Lions from Colorado, where he got a ton of run as a true freshman. He appeared in 10 games for the Buffaloes and registered 16 tackles, five quarterback hurries, half a sack, and a blocked punt.

While Colorado didn’t exactly strike fear into its opponents in 2025, it did manage to take down Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones 24-17 in October. McPherson tallied five tackles in that game alone, almost notching a third of his season total.

Campbell and his coaching staff didn’t pull McPherson aside postgame and tell him that they saw something in him, and that game didn’t dictate McPherson’s decision to join Penn State at all, but it did allow for some banter to help him get comfortable with the staff.

At the end of the day, McPherson chose Penn State because he wanted to become a better player. He feels that his on-field performance is being enhanced by what he’s doing off the field in Happy Valley.

McPherson said he put on 20 pounds over the offseason with the help of Penn State’s athletic staff and nutritionists. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound freshman defensive end at Colorado is now listed at 254 pounds on Penn State’s website.

“I would say physically, night and day difference … Last year, I missed a lot of summer workouts because I was sick for about a month, so that played a big factor. I’ve made a lot of progress since the winter as well,” McPherson said after practice Wednesday.

McPherson said the added weight hasn’t been difficult to adapt to. The team’s nutritionists made it easy to gain the weight when paired with the lifting schedule.

He said he’s running at the same speed he was before, but he’s just stronger now. He doesn’t see a need to gain any more weight at this point, though.

“The biggest thing is to be able to keep your agility. You can gain as much weight as you want, but you want to make sure to keep your agility because, at the end of the day, you are an edge rusher, and we’ve got to get to the quarterback,” McPherson said.

Outside of McPherson’s physical transformation, his environment also changed drastically with his move from Boulder, Colorado, to State College. He’s put in the offseason work and is ready for Marshall.

“We’re ready to go. New team, new era; we want to show everybody what we’ve got,” McPherson said.

Campbell named Penn State’s starting offensive line, Taylor Mouser named running backs and wide receivers who will play against the Thundering Herd, but the Nittany Lions’ defensive line still hasn’t taken complete shape heading into Saturday.

The room is definitely crowded.

Ikenna Ezeogu, Caleb Bacon, Max Granville, Yvan Kemajou, McPherson, and Mason Robinson all have genuine claims for starting spots, among others. That’s not including freshmen Elijah Reeder and Jackson Ford, either. Campbell has noted that he is not scared of playing freshmen.

McPherson said that he doesn’t know exactly how the unit will line up on Saturday, but that the coaching staff is going to “rotate a lot of guys.”

No matter how much time he gets, McPherson isn’t focused on his personal statistics.

“For me personally, it’s really just making sure that I did my job and did everything I can to help the team win,” McPherson said. “A sack is great, but at the end of the day, it’s really about winning and helping the team to the best of my ability.”

A new team, a new stadium, a new town, and an offseason full of growth for McPherson will culminate on Saturday as he hits the gridiron as a Penn State Nittany Lion.

He isn’t taking the opportunity for granted and is excited to step back out onto the field.

“Getting in front and showing what we’ve been doing behind the scenes and putting it all out there on the field and just playing together for the first time as a team,” McPherson said.