1/15/2023 football Edit

Penn State finally gets their guy, lands Kent State WR Dante Cephas

Dylan Callaghan-Croley • Happy Valley Insider

Editor

Penn State's search to add a potential game-changing wide receiver to their room out of the transfer portal finally ended on Sunday evening as Kent State wide receiver Dante Cephas announced his plans to transfer to Penn State.

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Cephas has been one of the Nittany Lions' top transfer portal options since the portal opened early in December. James Franklin and his coaching staff had to hold off numerous programs to land the Pittsburgh native including fellow in-state program, Pittsburgh.

Cephas is coming off a quality year for Kent State, totaling 48 receptions for 744 yards and three touchdowns. It was a good follow-up to a tremendous 2021 season that saw him record 82 receptions for 1,240 yards and nine touchdowns when he became the first Kent State wide receiver since 1997 to record a 1,000+ yard season.

For his career, Cephas has 145 receptions for 2,139 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Cephas will come to Happy Valley following the spring semester and immediately become the Nittany Lions No.1 wide receiver. A true No.1 wide receiver was arguably one of the few missing pieces for the program heading into the 2023 season.

The 6-foot-1, 178-pound wide receiver will join a position room that includes KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Harrison Wallace III, Liam Clifford, Omari Evans, and Kaden Saunders among others. Lambert-Smith is set to be the Nittany Lions' leading receiver, recording 24 receptions for 389 yards and four touchdowns this season.

The Virginia native had a generally slow season but was the program's top receiving threat over their final two games against Michigan State in their season finale and Utah in the Rose Bowl. In those games, Lambert-Smith recorded eight receptions for 207 yards and two touchdowns.

The Nittany Lions of course will have a new signal caller in 2023 with 2022 top-100 prospect Drew Allar all but officially set to take over as the starting quarterback. With many believe that Allar could be a star quarterback for the program and one that could help take the program to the next level. Now with Cephas as part of the offense, the Nittany Lions' ceiling offensively has increased drastically.