It wasn’t Miami, but wide receiver Trebor Pena will officially leave Syracuse and play for one of their historic rivals next season.
Pena announced his commitment to the Penn State Nittany Lions on his Instagram on Saturday, less than a week after he entered the transfer portal. He was projected to be the focal point of Syracuse’s offense this season after he was the top receiver last year in the best passing offense in the country, hauling in 84 catches for 941 yards and nine touchdowns.
Instead of building on that impressive season, Pena will now play for the Nittany Lions, who made it to the College Football Playoffs last year and finished as the No. 5-ranked team in the country in the final AP poll.
While it’s unfortunate to see Pena officially go with Syracuse looking to replicate its success from last year, it was unlikely he would return to the Orange after entering the portal following head coach Fran Brown’s comments. Brown said that Pena decided to transfer after asking for a pay raise that Syracuse wasn’t comfortable meeting, and told Pena to leave if that’s what it would take for him to stay.
Brown didn’t explicitly say that Pena wanted $2 million, but mentioned other wide receivers asking that amount and said the Orange wouldn’t spend that much on one skill player.
Pena also questioned how prepared first-year quarterback Rickie Collins was to lead the offense, which Brown reportedly did not like. After Pena entered the portal, Syracuse brought in Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli to compete with Collins for the starting job, but it seems that wasn’t enough to convince Pena to stay.
Before deciding on Penn State, Pena reportedly considered transferring to the Miami Hurricanes, one of Syracuse’s bitter ACC rivals. While not as much of a rival as Miami, the Orange have played Penn State 71 times in their school history, most recently in 2013. The two schools also often compete for the same recruits.
It remains to be seen what type of impact Pena will have for the Nittany Lions and how difficult it will be for Syracuse to replace him, but the Orange do have freshmen pass-catchers Darius Johnson and Demetres Samuel Jr. looking to contribute this season, so it’s unlikely Syracuse will dip into the portal to replace him.
