Penn State tight end and former five-star Andrew Olesh will enter the NCAA transfer portal

Penn State is set to lose one of its top recruits in the 2025 recruiting class, as tight end Andrew Olesh has decided to enter the NCAA’s transfer portal.

A former five-star prospect, Olesh came out of Southern Lehigh in Center Valley, Pa. He emerged on Penn State’s radar in June 2023 after camping with the staff. When he earned an offer from the Nittany Lions during a junior day visit in January 2024, many thought there was a good chance he’d end up committing to Penn State at some point in the coming months. Not only was he a Pennsylvania native, but Olesh’s father also graduated from the school.

However, come February, he rocketed up the rankings, going from unranked to a Top 100 recruit by On3. That grabbed the attention of some major schools, most notably Alabama and Michigan, as both programs offered within a week. Those two schools ended up being Penn State’s main competitors in June 2024 when he took official visits to those two schools, as well as Penn State and Florida.

He ultimately committed to Michigan in July, only to decide during the season that he wasn’t done evaluating other schools. Official visits to Oregon and Notre Dame followed in November, but he ended up switching his commitment to Penn State on the final day of the early signing period in December 2024.

Olesh joined a tight end room deep with talent, so he was never expected to make an immediate impact offensively in 2025. However, he also didn’t contribute on special teams either, registering zero snaps all season. Olesh was listed as out on the Big Ten’s availability report in Week 3 against Villanova. He joins Joey Schlaffer, Luke Reynolds, and Matt Henderson as tight ends leaving the Lions following the 2025 season.

Olesh’s decision to leave comes on the heels of former Iowa State tight end Ben Brahmer picking Penn State earlier Saturday.