Penn State cashed in the transfer portal with arguably the most underrated addition of the offseason for the Nittany Lions
There was a Penn State transfer portal acquisition that not enough people are talking about.
The minute that head coach James Franklin was let go by Penn State, everyone knew that there would be some heavy roster turnover to follow. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell quickly came in and rebuilt the floor of the program. The ideology for how to do that centered around bringing some top Cyclone players with him via the transfer portal.
When it comes to those transfer portal acquisitions, most will talk about quarterback Rocco Becht for obvious reasons. Perhaps the tight end duo of Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle will capture some of the main headlines, along with running back Carson Hansen, or even Ohio State running back transfer James Peoples. The fanbase loves their skill position players.
Arguably, the most underrated addition in the portal this offseason was former Iowa State defensive back Jeremiah Cooper. If you look at the portal rankings from 247 Sports, Cooper was only ranked as a three-star, the No. 257 overall player, and the No. 18 safety in this year’s class. Based on his background and resume, I’m not sure how someone could come to that ranking conclusion.
You won’t find many more versatile defensive backs in college football than Cooper. The 6-0, 195-pound defender has spent the majority of his time between safety and nickel during his college career. He even started for Iowa State in 2025 before missing time with an injury. It’ll be interesting to see where he lines up for Penn State.
While Cooper won’t get the big headlines compared to some, his sheer presence presents some huge value. Expect the Texas native to make a huge splash during his lone season in Happy Valley. If not for that aforementioned injury, Cooper would be preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft currently. This is an NFL defensive back with some rare versatility on the back end, which is huge for the Nittany Lions, who are breaking in a new coaching staff.
Jeremiah Cooper’s career background
Cooper was originally a member of the 2022 recruiting class for Iowa State. Like most Cyclone success stories under Campbell, the El Paso (Texas) Andress star was an extremely underrated recruit coming out. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, the talented defender ended up ranked as the No. 846 overall player, the No. 68 safety, and the No. 121 overall player from the state of Texas for the 2022 class.
Despite that lower ranking, Cooper did have some good options coming out of high school. Some of his top offers included Iowa State, Texas Tech, Kansas State, SMU, Baylor, Arizona, Colorado, Boston College, Syracuse, Kansas, Wake Forest, and Oregon State, among others. Cooper’s options were even better this time around, although reuniting with Campbell in Happy Valley ended up being his top option.
Over his first three seasons with the Cyclones, Cooper became an outstanding performer at both safety and nickel for the team. Iowa State moved Cooper to outside cornerback prior to the 2025 season, and he got off to a fast start before suffering a knee injury. During his four seasons with the team, Cooper ended with 134 total tackles, eight interceptions, 22 pass breakups, and 4.5 tackles for loss.
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