ICYMI: Outgoing Penn State football player makes transfer portal commitment

It’s been a relatively quiet transfer portal season thus far for Penn State football. While the Nittany Lions haven’t grabbed a splashy transfer to date, they’ve also not been impacted by many portal entrees. However, there is some news for the Nittany Lions on the portal front, with outgoing Penn State CB Jace Tutty announcing last week that he will transfer to FCS Youngstown State.

Ex-Penn State football player Jace Tutty announces transfer portal destination

Jace Tutty was one of three Penn State football players who entered the transfer portal when the window opened on December 4. Tutty did not see the field during his first two seasons in State College, but earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2022. This fall, he played three snaps on defense for the Nittany Lions.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank Coach Franklin and the entire Penn State football staff for the opportunity and blessing to be a part of such an amazing program these past three years,” Tutty wrote on social media on December 4. “I will be forever grateful for the memories and brotherhood created at Penn State.”

“Although this decision has been an extremely hard one, after discussing with my family, we have decided it is in my best interest to enter the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining,” the Stroudsburg native continued. “I am looking for defensive and special team opportunities (primarily safety, sam/nickel).”

And now, Jace Tutty has found his new home. Last week, Tutty announced that he was committing to Youngstown State. The Penguins went 8-5 in the FCS’s Missouri Valley Conference in 2023.

home! blessed beyond measures!

#330 🐧@ysufootball pic.twitter.com/cS2kF6GfEn

— Jace Tutty (@jacetutty) December 20, 2023

A quiet portal season for the Nittany Lions

Jace Tutty becomes the second former Penn State football player to find a landing spot out of the transfer portal. On December 13, P Alex Bacchetta announced that he was transferring to Rice. Outgoing WR Cristian Driver has yet to commit to another program.

The only “drama” that Penn State has experienced in the portal came late last week. After committing to the Nittany Lions on December 11, it came out last Thursday that Shorter University OT Alan Herron was instead transferring to Maryland.

And, of course, everyone is still waiting for a potential commitment from former Ohio State WR Julian Fleming. Fleming has been predicted to land with the Nittany Lions since December 14. There’s currently no timetable for the former No. 1 player in Pennsylvania to decide.

“We’re not a huge transfer portal team, but we do it,” James Franklin has said of Penn State’s portal approach in recent weeks.

“We look at the transfer portal where we need to gain experience,” he said. “Say we have young players that we think are going to be really good and talented but lack experience, then at some positions, we’re going to look to bring experience in, very similar to how people maybe nowadays use junior colleges. And then sometimes it’s to create more competition, that we feel like we like the room, but there needs to be a higher level of competition.”

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media. Also, be sure to check out our new site shop. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!