Former Penn State transfer portal WR target hits portal for second time

Penn State football finally made a splash in the transfer portal on Wednesday when James Franklin landed former Ohio State WR and one-time five-star prospect Julian Fleming. But given the current state of the position room, the Nittany Lions likely aren’t done eyeing portal talent at WR. As with Fleming, Penn State may have another second chance on a big-name WR who previously committed elsewhere. This time, however, it comes from a transfer portal re-entry, as USC WR Dorian Singer has put his name on the market once again.

USC WR Dorian Singer re-enters transfer portal

Much like this time last year, Penn State football is looking for playmaking WRs in the transfer portal. And much like last year, one of the top available players in the portal is Dorian Singer. Singer was one of the hottest names on the market last offseason after putting up 1,105 yards and 6 touchdowns at Arizona in 2022. However, James Franklin and the Nittany Lions missed on Singer, who instead committed to USC last December.

CALI BOUND✌️ pic.twitter.com/bofzoVd19G

— Dorian singer (@dorian_singer1) December 19, 2022

But things never panned out for Singer with the Trojans. The 2022 first-team All-PAC 12 WR experienced a significant backslide in Lincoln Riley’s offense, only catching 24 passes for 289 yards and 3 scores this season. And now, Singer is moving on from USC. On Wednesday, Pete Nakos of On3 reported Singer’s plans to re-enter the transfer portal.

NEWS: USC WR Dorian Singer has re-entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, per @PeteNakos_.

Singer transferred in from Arizona where he had 1,105 receiving yards during the 2022 season👀 https://t.co/HOJwGttmIh pic.twitter.com/PcliLF9KwN

— On3 (@On3sports) January 3, 2024

Even with Julian Fleming, the Penn State WR room needs help

The WR position was perhaps the biggest question mark coming into the 2023 season for Penn State football. In many ways, it may have been better if that question went unanswered this fall. The Nittany Lion WRs vastly underperformed even the most pessimistic expectations this fall. Penn State WRs had 127 catches for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023. This compares to 119 total receptions for 1,280 yards and 20 scores from other positions.

Penn State’s deficiencies at WR have been no more evident than in the week. Nittany Lion WRs only had 5 receptions in Saturday’s Peach Bowl loss, and didn’t record a catch until the third quarter. On Wednesday, Penn State’s second-leading WR, Dante Cephas, re-entered the transfer portal after only one season in Happy Valley.

Julian Fleming will be a boost for a position room in desperate need of playmakers out wide. James Franklin discussed Penn State’s lack of receiving threats after the Peach Bowl when asked about the struggles of QB Drew Allar.

“I think there are some things that he [Allar] can do and be more consistent as well, but I think the biggest thing, which I think was a question earlier, is we’ve got to be able to scare people and be a threat consistently on the perimeter,” Franklin said. “That’s something I think we’ve shown flashes of at times, but we need to be able to do that on a consistent basis.”

While Dorian Singer underperformed relative to expectations at USC this fall, he’s shown the ability to make plays at the Power 5 level. As the transfer portal window closes and the spring semester begins on campuses across the country over the next few weeks, Singer will likely become a hot commodity once again as teams solidify their rosters for spring ball.

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