Penn State strengthened its defensive line with a graduation transfer from the former defensive tackle Duke Tangelo Tower. The veteran, who threw his ball in high school at The Bullis School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, announced the decision on Tuesday afternoon.
The 6-foot-2, 310-pound prospect was one of ACC’s most consistent defenders last season for the Blue Devils. He ended the year with 40 tackles, four loss tackles and two sacks. He also forced three fumbles and recovered one.
For his career at Duke, Tangelo played 45 matches and recorded 114 tackles, 12 tackles for defeat, 4.5 sacks and five forced fumbles.
Potential sixth-year defensive attack Antonio Shelton announced last week that he would finish his qualification elsewhere. Shelton played in all nine games this year, ensuring the best of his career, 4.5 losing tackles and 3.5 sacks. Tangelo imagines being a competitor to fill his spot next to the veteran PJ Mustipher. Freshman Redshirt Hakeem Beamon and junior redshirt Fred Hansard were the main reserves for Nittany Lions this season. Second year redshirt Judge Culpepper also entered the Portal last week. Lions of Nittany also have a number of younger players on scholarships for the job.
Penn State sought to reinforce its levels of depth and competition in all positions through the Transfer Portal this off-season. Tangelo is the third addition through the Portal, joining the former Baylor runner John Lovett and former South Carolina cornerback John Dixon.
“The big change that we think is likely to happen here soon is that children will have immediate qualification,” Nittany Lions player personnel director Andy Frank said on National Signature Day. “This is going to be another increase in what the transfer portal means. I think we all realized that in the past, for us at Penn State, transfers were not a big part of our overall recruiting process. This is gonna change. We are not going to make a living full time in terms of all of our players arriving at the transfer portal by any imaginative effort. We will still do most of our high school recruitment, but we will be active on the transfer portal and look for guys who can help us fill in the gaps. “