Lions finally hit jackpot by landing transfer WR Cephas

ALTOONA, Pa. -- This was the news Penn State has been waiting for -- the kind of news that could be a major game changer for the Nittany Lions next season.

Kent State receiver and Pittsburgh native Dante Cephas announced Sunday night that he is transferring to Penn State. The news came just a short while after the school announced that James Franklin had fired wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield, making that a fascinating non-coincidence that I hope we someday find out more about exactly what went down and why.

Cephas was the top remaining wide receiver in the transfer portal, and the No. 4 overall wideout who had been in the portal.

Cephas also had been considering Pitt, as well as numerous other schools. At one point, it was believed he was going to commit to Pitt, per an ESPN report.

A Penn Hills High School product, he played with current Penn State players Daequan Hardy and Tank Smith in high school.

Cephas is a 6-foot-1, 178-pounder who played four seasons at Kent State. He was a 2-star recruit out of Penn Hills in the class of 2019 and chose Kent State over the likes of Bowling Green, Eastern Kentucky, Howard, Toledo and Wisconsin.

But after playing four seasons of college ball and putting up good numbers, Cephas became a highly sought after player once he entered the transfer portal. Georgia, Notre Dame and Colorado were among the schools targeting him, along with Penn State and Pitt.

Here's a look at Cephas' career numbers at Kent State:

2019: 4 catches, 19 yards
2020: 11 catches, 136 yards
2021: 82 catches, 1,240 yards, 9 TDs
2022: 48 catches, 744 yards, 3 TDs

As you can, he broke through with a big-time 2021 season. His numbers dipped this past season, but his skill set and experience made him a valuable prospect in the transfer portal.

Cephas is the frontrunner to immediately become Penn State's No. 1 wide receiver for next season. The Lions return KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who had 24 catches for 389 yards and four TDs this season. KLS closed his season with a Rose Bowl-record 88-yard touchdown reception.

The big question with Cephas is how he will adapt to being the guy as the top wideout on a Big Ten offense. He will be going up against better defensive backs than he's faced for most of his career -- outside of a few non-conference games he played at Kent State -- and will have to show that he can be reliable facing tougher coverage cornerbacks.