Penn State has acquired its second wide receiver from the NCAA Transfer Portal, as former Troy player Devonte Ross announced via Instagram that he will be joining the team’s 2025 roster. He becomes the third transfer addition, following former USC receiver Kyron Hudson and ex-Texas A&M defensive end Enai White.
Ross has one season of eligibility left and was named a first-team All-Sun Belt receiver last year, ranking second in the conference with 76 receptions and 1,043 receiving yards, while leading with 11 touchdowns. Additionally, he earned second-team honors as a return specialist, averaging 17 yards per punt return and scoring on a 77-yard return against Iowa.
In his standout season, Ross averaged 120.4 all-purpose yards per game and set Troy’s record for single-game receiving yards with 229 against Florida A&M, which included a 98-yard touchdown catch—the longest in Troy’s Division I history. In a memorable performance against Iowa, he scored all three of Troy’s touchdowns, highlighted by a 77-yard punt return and two receiving touchdowns of 63 and 62 yards, totaling five catches for 142 yards.
During his three seasons at Troy, the 5-foot-11, 161-pound Ross recorded 129 receptions for 1,618 yards and 14 touchdowns. A 3-star prospect from Carterville, Georgia, Ross visited Penn State last weekend after entering the transfer portal on December 16. He originally committed to Marshall in late 2020 but signed with Kentucky for the 2021 season, although he did not play for the Wildcats and instead transferred to Troy for 2022.
Enai White, a Philadelphia native and edge rusher, is also transferring to Penn State. Coach James Franklin had previously recruited him from Imhotep Charter, offering him a scholarship in 2019 alongside many other major programs. A 4-star recruit, White eventually joined Texas A&M’s 2022 class, ranked as the top in the nation by 247Sports Composite.
Over three seasons at Texas A&M, White played in 13 games, including just one in 2024, after suffering a season-ending injury during the 2023 season that affected his participation into 2024 where he played only nine snaps. He has two years of eligibility left and will reunite with Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes, who coached him in high school.
Earlier in the season, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko commented on White’s challenges following his injury, noting it was a tough recovery journey. “It’s been a long road back for him, and obviously it was a really rough injury and the rehab on those injuries is so long,” Elko said during an interview on Texas A&M’s Aggie Football Hour this fall.
