Nittany Lions add highly sought transfer defensive end
Penn State head coach James Franklin made an announcement during his early signing day press conference on Dec. 15 for anyone who might hear it.
"When you talk about transfers, we're going to be looking at defensive ends, we're going to be looking at defensive backs from a transfer perspective or in a second recruiting cycle. Those are areas that we're going to be focused on, so any high school coaches or prospects that may be listening to this, those positions, as well as maybe some others, are going to be very, very important for us moving forward," Franklin said. "You'll see some more activity in the second recruiting period as well as the transfer market which is just really part of 2020 and where football is at and where football is headed."
Following the addition of cornerback John Dixon the other day, both parts of Franklin's wish list has now come to fruition, as former Temple defensive end Arnold Ebiketie announced Thursday that he'll join the Nittany Lions. He's expected to begin taking classes and training with the team when they return in a few weeks.
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Ebiketie is coming off a second-team All-AAC season for the Owls in which he finished with 29 tackles, four sacks and 14 quarterback hurries in six games as a starter. For his career at Temple, he totaled 59 tackles and six sacks.
His effort this season made Ebiketie one of the nation's best performing defensive ends according to Pro Football Focus' advanced metrics. With a grade of 85.0, Ebiketie finished just behind Penn State's Jayson Oweh, who announced his decision to turn pro. Overall, there were more than 500 defensive ends that played at least 100 snaps this season at the Division I level, and Ebiketie ranked 22nd overall. His pass rush grade of 88.3 was also among the best in the nation at No. 20 overall.
A former two-star prospect from Albert Einsetin High School in Kensington, Md., Ebiketie was part of Temple's Class of 2017. He'll have two seasons of eligibility remaining due to the NCAA's edict that the 2020 season would not count against eligibility for any of its participants.
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