When the 2022 season ended, and the transfer portal opened up, the Penn State Nittany Lions acquired cornerback Storm Duck. Duck entered as a grad transfer, and there were some high hopes regarding the cornerback. The transfer portal opened once again, and just a couple of months later, Duck entered the transfer portal again. Here is a look into why Storm Duck may have entered the Portal and what this means for him and the Nittany Lions.
Storm Duck Enters the Transfer Portal
On April 15th, Penn State held its 2023 Blue-White game. Less than a week later, it is announced that Duck has entered the portal, indicating there is a connection there. The blue team held the projected 2023 first team, while the white team held the second team. The Blue team had five cornerbacks, but Storm Duck was on the White team.
Former UNC CB Storm Duck (29) – Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
Duck spent four years playing for North Carolina before entering the transfer portal. In those four years, Duck had 103 combined tackles, 82 of which were solo and three tackles for loss, according to Sports Reference. He also had 17 pass deflections, one forced fumble, and five interceptions for 34 yards and one touchdown. Duck had an excellent season for North Carolina in 2022, which led to excitement from Nittany Lions fans.
Although Duck played in 12 games in 2022, he only played five games in 2021 and one game in 2020. If it is playing time that Storm Duck is looking for, perhaps that is why he has entered the transfer portal. What the cornerback will need to keep in mind, Nittany Lions head coach, James Franklin, has made it clear that once a name enters the transfer portal, they are done at Penn State.
As for the Penn State Nittany Lions, it is looking like the top two cornerbacks in 2023 will be Johnny Dixon and Kalen King. In 2022, Dixon had 23 combined tackles, 17 of which were solo, 4.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks, according to Sports Reference. Dixon also had one forced fumble, ten pass deflections, and two interceptions. As for King, he had 30 combined tackles, 23 solo, and three tackles for loss, according to Sports Reference. King also had one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, 16 pass deflections, and three interceptions. While there are other strong players, this duo can be a tough match in 2023.
Penn State CB Johnny Dixon (3) – Grace Brennan/FOS/247 Sports
There could be a chance that Duck thought that with Joey Porter Jr. entering the 2023 NFL draft, he could make his way up in Penn State, but really he had multiple players to beat out. There is also a chance something happened behind the scenes that no one knows about. Entering the portal two times in five months is not the greatest look for Storm Duck. Hopefully, for the cornerback, following the wrap-up of the spring games, teams will see they need a cornerback and add him.
Duck was named All-ACC second team last season, and there will be teams that could use him. Being as good of a player as he is, Storm Duck will find somewhere to go and hopefully will be on a team where he can get more playing time. Duck has a lot of potential as a player, and his skills do deserve to be used somewhere. As for the Nittany Lions, they can be proud that they do not need to start an All-ACC second-team player and are confident in the guys they have now.
The Penn State Nittany Lions will be facing West Virginia in their first game of the 2023 season on September second. There is a rumor out there that it will even be a night game for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State fans can look forward to their secondary that caused someone like Storm Duck to enter the transfer portal, and as for the cornerback, hopefully, Duck will find a new team to play with soon to start the 2023 season on a high note.
