Penn State football coach James Franklin made three offseason signings to redevelop his wide receivers room. After noting the Nittany Lions’ linebackers needed depth and competition, Franklin returned to the transfer portal for a key pickup.
Linebacker Amare Campbell, who played for North Carolina the past two seasons, has committed to Penn State, his agents at A&P Sports Agency told ESPN’s Pete Thamel and other outlets. Campbell has two seasons of eligibility remaining at Penn State.
Campbell made 76 tackles, tied for second on the team, and 6.5 sacks for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season. The 6-0, 230-pound linebacker also made 10.5 tackles for loss, broke up two passes and forced a fumble.
Campbell initially entered the portal in December but chose to remain at North Carolina for spring drills with new head coach Bill Belichick. Campbell re-entered the portal in late April. He was among 51 Tar Heels who entered the portal, according to 247Sports.
Campbell, who recently visited Penn State, was a 3-star prospect at Unity Reed High in Virginia and as a portal linebacker, according to 247Sports. He was a top-30 player in Virginia as a senior, according to ESPN, and was 247Sports’ eighth-ranked linebacker in the transfer portal. Campbell also visited SMU before choosing Penn State.
Campbell (6-0, 230 pounds) is the eighth player to transfer to Penn State this offseason and second of the spring window. The Nittany Lions also received a commitment from former Syracuse wide receiver Trebor Pena, who announced his decision just before the Blue-White Game. Pena became the third receiver to transfer to Penn State this offseason, joining Kyron Hudson (USC) and Devonte Ross (Troy).
After the Blue-White Game, Franklin said that Penn State intended to pursue at least one linebacker from the portal.
“I think we’re in good shape [at linebacker], but there’s some concerns there,” Franklin said. “… I think we’ve got enough in the room, but to get through an entire season, if we get some injuries, it could get challenging. So we’re going to look at the portal and see if we can find a solution. More times than not, we’d like it to be somebody that is connected to us and that we know, because we’ve got a really good locker room. I want to make sure that we’re bringing the right people into our locker room. We’re very protective of that.”
Penn State also has hosted former Rutgers linebacker Mohamed Toure for a recent visit. Toure was an all-Big Ten linebacker in 2023 but missed last season with a torn ACL. It was the second season Toure missed in his Rutgers career due to injury.
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