Former Duke DT Derrick Tangelo set to transfer to Penn State
Penn State has found its replacement for Antonio Shelton, as former Duke defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo is set to finish out his collegiate career in State College.
A three-year starter in Durham, Tangelo has been one of Duke's most consistent players since arriving on campus in 2017. Although he played sparingly his first season on campus, Tangelo didn't redshirt for the Blue Devils. In the three seasons since, he's played in nearly every game for David Cutcliffe and his squad, totaling over 100 tackles and five sacks.
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According to Pro Football Focus, Tangelo has been as consistent as they come over the years. He earned a 75.5 overall defensive rating his freshman year and followed that with an 80.3 in 2018. As an upperclassmen, he had a grade of 74.5 playing in 10 games in 2019, and followed that up with a 75.6 this season.
His run stopping percentage of 11.3 % was No. 1 in the nation this year when you only consider players that played 200 snaps or more. Furthermore, using that same criteria, his overall grade of 75.6 rated fifth overall in the ACC. He was the 21st-ranked defensive tackle at the Power Five level out of 166 players this past season.
Coming out of high school, Tangelo was a lightly recruited prospect, although he did visit Penn State in 2015 for a game against Indiana. He primarily earned offers from schools in the Championship Subdivision, although Navy, Temple and Wake Forest all offered.
Tangelo is now the third transfer to confirm that they plan to join the Nittany Lions next season. James Franklin and his staff added running back John Lovett over a week ago. Just like Tangelo, the former Baylor running back has one season left of eligibility remaining. They'll also add former South Carolina cornerback John Dixon, who was a top target for the staff coming out of high school. All three players will join the team in a few weeks.
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