Penn State lands first non-Iowa State portal addition

Penn State has picked up its first transfer portal addition of the 2026 cycle beyond the Iowa State ecosystem. And it’s coming alongside a recent hire to the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff.

Just days after head coach Matt Campbell landed Ikaika Malloe to be its defensive line coach, the former coordinator at UCLA has one of his pupils tagging along. Keanu Williams, a 6-foot-5, 320-pound defensive tackle who played for the Bruins this past season, announced his commitment to the Penn State football program via social media post on Monday evening.

His addition marks the 20th transfer portal pick up for the Nittany Lions this cycle, the other 19 all coming from Campbell’s Iowa State roster.

Williams is a California native and has just one season of eligibility remaining, having taken a redshirt during his true freshman season at Oregon in 2021, then losing the majority of the 2024 campaign at UCLA with a season-ending injury after the second game of the year.

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This past season, he played in 12 games and started 11 games after working back from the injury, playing exclusively at defensive tackle. He bookended the campaign with his best performances according to Pro Football Focus College, posting a grade of 76.8 against UNLV in week two and ending the season with a 73.0 grade at Southern Cal in the final week of the regular season.

For his career, he has totaled 59 tackles, making 1.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks.

Penn State works to rebuild defensive line

Earlier Monday, BWI’s Thomas Frank Carr offered his early impressions of Williams and his potential to fit at Penn State:

Keanu Williams is an interesting story at defensive tackle and, in many ways, is what Penn State fans thought “Bear” Alexander was last season in the transfer portal. Unlike the 300-pound tackle nicknamed Bear, Williams is a massive 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, but he carries his weight incredibly well on his frame. The issue is that he was not nearly as effective last season as he was earlier in his career at UCLA.

Comparing Williams’ best effort in 2023 against his injury shortened 2024 campaign and his return to action in 2025, T-Frank left a fundamental question to be answered by the defensive tackle moving forward:

So, which version of Williams would Penn State get in his medical redshirt sixth season? If he can return to his 2023 form—when he played under Lynn the first time—Penn State would be landing a bona fide nose tackle with mountainous size and power, along with enough quickness and agility to steal gaps from the offense. If he plays closer to his 2025 version, Williams is still serviceable, but not that borderline-dominant run defender.