Transfer Update: Former Penn State Defender Back in Portal

A former Penn State defender is back in the transfer portal.

Per On3Sports, former Penn State and, apparently, former Alabama safety King Mack has entered the portal for the second time in less than eight months.

 

Mack, a 5-foot-10, 206-pounder, was a late entry into the portal last spring, entering in early May weeks after spring practice at Penn State ended. In what looks to be his lone season at Alabama, Mack played in nine games on defense, totaling 106 snaps. 38 of those snaps came in the team’s loss at Tennessee Oct. 19. Aside from that, his season-high was just 19, which took place Week 1 in a 63-0 squeaker over Western Kentucky.

So it’s fair to wonder if leaving Penn State was the right choice for Mack.

WHAT IF MACK HAD STAYED?

What if Mack had stayed at Penn State? It’s a question people have been asking a lot, even dating back to before he played a snap at Alabama. Mack was one of Penn State’s most-used true freshmen in 2023, appearing in all 13 games. First-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen loves using three safeties, as evidenced by Penn State running a 4-2-5. So everyone expected Mack to get a ton of playing time even if all the other safeties stayed healthy.

In hindsight, Mack would have had an even more important role because Penn State’s No. 1 safety, Kevin Winston Jr., suffered a season-ending injury between Week 1 and Week 2.

Hindsight is 20-20 but it’s easy to see why people— including perhaps Mack himself— are questioning the decision to leave Penn State and enter the transfer portal.

WOULD MACK RETURN TO PENN STATE?

So would Mack return to Penn State? It’s an interesting question for a few reasons. For one, Winston (declared for Draft) and Jaylen Reed (out of eligibility) will be gone in 2025, so Penn State will need help at safety even with veteran Zakee Wheatley coming back.

Penn State is already familiar with Mack and has no problem picking up players who initially chose elsewhere (Chop Robinson being the No. 1 example to date).

With this said, Penn State has never picked up a transfer who previously left the program. Judging by the fact that Coach James Franklin prefers to let players who enter the portal move on (Beau Pribula), it’s hard to see the program welcoming back a player who transferred from it. But, anything can happen.

No. 6 Penn State takes on No. 7 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl/College Football Playoff semifinal. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 on ESPN from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.