BREAKING: Penn State Lands Top Transfer Portal Wide Receiver
Saturday, Penn State Football hauled in a transfer portal splash when wide receiver announced that he will be joining the Nittany Lions.
Pena entered the transfer portal on April 15th, and he visited Penn State the weekend of April 18th, Miami the following week, and then ultimately decided on Penn State.
Trebor Pena played his high school ball in New Jersey at Ocean Township. After his career in New Jersey, he took his talents to Syracuse where he produced 109 receptions, 1,213 yards, and 10 touchdowns in his four year career. Most notably, Pena hauled in 84 receptions, 941 receiving yards, and 9 touchdowns in his 2024 campaign. Those numbers earned Pena 2nd team all ACC honors.
There has been no shortage of media coverage, chatter, and unrest among the Penn State crowd when it comes to wanting another Wide Receiver. Penn State brought in Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross during the winter transfer portal windown, but people want more. It is clear that the Penn State Receiver room has been lacking in recent years. The addition of these two transfers and now Trebor Pena, should help boost Penn State’s Wide Receiver room.
Three things Trebor Pena brings Penn State Football
Proven Production
Last year, Pena racked up an impressive 84 receptions. That is a good number of catches. Granted, Pena played in a Syracuse offense that threw the ball about 60% of the time, that is still quality production.
Trebor Pena will be the only wideout on Penn State’s roster who has caught more than 40 balls in a season at the power Five level.
Kyron Hudson comes in second with 38, and Liam Clifford follows Hudson, catching 18 passes last year. That is just not a whole lot of production. Pena adds more catches and yards than Hudson, Clifford, and Tyseer Denmark had last year.
Obviously, Devonte Ross is a bit of a wild card. He produced great stats against the Sun Belt. Time will tell how productive Ross can be at the power four level.
Even though he played in a pass-happy offense last year, Trebor Pena brings proven production. Production that the Nittany Lions have been looking for for a long time.
Chain Mover
Obviously, you can look at the amount of receptions Pena had in 2024, compared to the yards he had. It doesn’t take a genius to see that he wasn’t exactly a homerun hitter.
Trebor Pena was a consistent chain mover for the Syracuse Orange last year. There were countless times on his film where it was 3rd and 7, 3rd and 4, etc. and Pena hauled in a catch to gain just enough yards for the first down. This will be huge for Penn State. He could become someone that Drew Allar can feel confident in going to on critical downs.
While Trebor Pena might not be a homerun threat everytime he touches the ball, he will provide a consistent ability to move the chains at the right time.
Sure Hands
This point is similar to the last one. However, it feels necessary to differentiate between the two. Trebor Pena brings very sure hands to the Penn State Receiver room.
The reason this is different from Pena being a reliable chain mover, is that he has sure hands on deep and intermediate routes. While a lot of Pena’s production came on shallow routes, he had some nice catches deeper down the field.
While Pena stands at 6 foot, 180 pounds, he can make some nice contested catches. He fights well for the ball at his size. Again, something Penn State desperately needs. He is not someone that I would consider a contested catch monster, but he can make one from time to time. He can make the catch, take a hit and hold on to the ball. Pena is the type of guy that Allar can throw the ball to and know if Pena gets his hands on it, it is most likely a catch.
Trebor Pena brings a lot of much needed, good things to Marques Hagans and the Penn State Football Wide Receiver room. You are not looking at a dominant, alpha, Ryan Williams esque player. But, I think Trebor Pena raises the floor and ceiling for this Penn State Wide Receiver room in 2025.
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Penn State Offense Projection: Drew Allar Leads Dynamic Lineup as Transfer Portal Looms
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Purdy was born and raised in central Ohio and served for four years writing for his high school's newsletter. Currently studying Biblical Studies at Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, Ian has been a lifelong Nittany Lion fan.
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