Penn State football head coach Matt Campbell is getting to work on the recruiting trail. (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)
A new transfer portal commitment is in. Penn State Football has landed a commitment from Utah transfer Dallas Vakalahi.
Vakalahi will join Keanu Williams and Armstrong Nnodim as the non-Iowa State transfer Defensive Lineman.
This comes as another win for new Defensive Line coach Ikaika Malloe.
Additionally, it seems that Malloe will be going after bigger body Defensive Lineman than Penn State has recently. He added Williams at 6-5, 320 and now Vakalahi at 6-2, 313.
Can Vakalahi Make an Impact at Penn State?
Going back to his high school days, Vakalahi was rated as a 3-star prospect out of Salt Lake City. He chose the Utes over TCU, BYU, and several others.
In Vakalahi’s freshman season with Utah, he appeared in nine games, starting three of them. In total, he logged 16 tackles and two sacks in his freshman season and was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
Vakalahi followed up his freshman campaign by playing in eight games and starting two in 2025. He recorded 11 tackles in total on the year.
Dallas Vakalahi is a very solid pickup for Matt Campbell and Penn State. He brings size, experience and has been fairly productive at Utah. Furthermore, stats don’t tell the full story on Defensive Tackles. It’s a hard position to rack up stats from. The size and experience he brings make him an instant player in the rotation for Penn State in 2026.
Ian Purdy covers Penn State Football Recruiting for NittanyCentral.
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.
- Penn State Lands Utah Defensive Lineman Dallas Vakalahi - January 8, 2026
- Former Buckeye Running Back to Transfer to Penn State - January 6, 2026
- Penn State Lands Oklahoma State Transfer Armstrong Nnodim - January 6, 2026
Author
About the Author
