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<p>The names of Penn State players have continued to pop up in the NCAA&#8217;s online transfer portal. The Nittany Lions may end up doing some browsing there themselves to restock some depth on the roster before the 2019 season.</p><p>Backup cornerback Zech McPhearson became the fourth Lions veteran to announce he would seek a transfer, announcing his intentions on Twitter on Sunday.</p><p>&#8220;First and foremost I want to give thanks to God for the opportunity to attend and play for Penn State,&#8221; wrote the Maryland native, who just finished his redshirt sophomore season. &#8220;I&#8217;d also like to thank Coach (James) Franklin and his staff for taking me in and helping me develop these past 3 years. I&#8217;ve made life long friendships with incredible people.</p><p>&#8220;After long thought and talks with family, I have decided to transfer following graduation this spring. I will forever be grateful for all of the experiences along the way.&#8221;</p><p>Wide receiver Juwan Johnson also said he would play for another program in 2019 in the past week. Previously, reserve linebackers Dae&#8217;Lun Darien and Brelin Faison-Walden said they would transfer to be closer to home because of illnesses in their families.</p><p>And more attrition could be on the way for the Lions, who also lost five junior starters to the NFL draft &#8212; Miles Sanders, Connor McGovern, Ryan Bates, Shareef Miller and Kevin Givens.</p><p>Cole Cubelic of ESPN and the company&#8217;s SEC Network reported Sunday that the names of safety Lamont Wade and wide receiver Brandon Polk have also been entered into the transfer portal. The Times Leader could not independently confirm Wade and Polk&#8217;s inclusion, and neither player had announced their intentions as of Sunday evening.</p><p>Wade, Penn State&#8217;s top-rated recruit in the 2017 signing class, spent part of Sunday retweeting fans who were insulting him or his play.</p><p>The portal is part of a revamped transfer process that went into effect this fall. Players who apply to enter it are free to be contacted by other teams while exploring their options and can still opt to withdraw their names and return to their old program. Those original schools, however, are not obligated to hold a scholarship open for them or accept their return.</p><p>Johnson, McPhearson and Polk would all be eligible to play for a new team right away in 2019 as grad transfers. Should Wade head to another FBS program, he would have to sit out next season. Since he has not used his redshirt yet, however, he would not lose a year of eligibility.</p><p>While none of the players who are transferring &#8212; or considering it &#8212; were projected as starters for 2019, Penn State&#8217;s depth for next season will undoubtedly be hurt.</p><p>Should Polk depart along with Johnson, the Lions would enter next season without a single senior or junior wide receiver on scholarship. A former high school teammate of quarterback Trace McSorley, Polk started seven games this past season but was barely on the field at all in the latter half of 2018, even with Johnson injured.</p><p>Asked in November if Polk was battling injuries like Johnson, Franklin said, &#8220;It&#8217;s hard to say the same, because there&#8217;s a hundred variables that go into it. But similar. There&#8217;s some similarities there, yes.&#8221;</p><p>With or without Polk, the Lions will enter the spring with Justin Shorter and Jahan Dotson the favorites to start on the outside with KJ Hamler in the slot.</p><p>In the secondary, McPhearson and Wade would be projected to enter the spring in the two-deep, with Wade in the mix to start in Nick Scott&#8217;s former spot at safety.</p><p>Both sophomores had only seen spot duty on defense the last two seasons, playing predominately on special teams. With McPhearson leaving, the Lions still look to be strong at corner, even with Amani Oruwariye&#8217;s graduation.</p><p>John Reid and Tariq Castro-Fields are heavy favorites to start with Donovan Johnson likely the top option to come in for the nickel.</p><p>Safety could be a different story should Wade leave, the Lions are high on Jonathan Sutherland and have Lackawanna College star Jaquan Brisker arriving in the summer to compete for the job opposite Garrett Taylor.</p><p>Wade was ranked the No. 43 overall recruit in the 2017 class out of Class A powerhouse Clairton High School near Pittsburgh. He played as a true freshman in 2017 as a cornerback before being switched to safety this past season, which he spent as a second-teamer.</p><p>&#8220;Lamont continues to get better,&#8221; cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, Wade&#8217;s primary recruiter, said before the Citrus Bowl. &#8220;He&#8217;s a major factor on special teams for us, both as a freshman and a sophomore. He&#8217;s given us great depth this year in the secondary and continues to grow. Obviously, with the departure of Nick Scott, we&#8217;re looking for Lamont to step up (in 2019).&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A reserve for his first three years on campus, Penn State cornerback Zech McPhearson was projected as a second-teamer for 2019 prior to his decision to transfer after the spring semester. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_AP_16339032593917.jpg</photo0><caption0>A reserve for his first three years on campus, Penn State cornerback Zech McPhearson was projected as a second-teamer for 2019 prior to his decision to transfer after the spring semester. </caption0><photoCredit0>AJ Mast | AP file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

PSU cornerback McPhearson plans transfer; More could follow