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<p>Penn State&#8217;s 2018 recruiting class was the program&#8217;s highest-rated since the turn of the century. And it&#8217;s a group that will become the core of the Nittany Lions even faster than expected.</p><p>More responsibility is quickly coming for the guys who will be sophomores and redshirt freshmen next fall as veteran backups continue to consider transfers.</p><p>The latest to publicly announce his impending departure is reserve safety Ayron Monroe, who said Tuesday he is set to earn his degree in the spring and play out his final season of eligibility as a grad transfer. Two other backups, tackle Alex Gellerstedt and tight end Danny Dalton, have also entered the NCAA&#8217;s online transfer portal &#8212; which allows other schools to contact them &#8212; <a href="https://247sports.com/Article/Football-transfer-portal-Penn-State-players-Danny-Dalton-Ayron-Monroe-Alex-Gellerstedt-127876937" target="_blank">according to a report from </a><a href="https://247sports.com/Article/Football-transfer-portal-Penn-State-players-Danny-Dalton-Ayron-Monroe-Alex-Gellerstedt-127876937" target="_blank">Lions247</a>.</p><p>All three players finished the season as third-teamers. But more than any one player, it&#8217;s the cumulative effect of a rash of early departures that figures to hurt the Lions, who will suddenly be scrambling to get back to 85 scholarships.</p><p>Monroe joins wide receiver <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/sports/730007/penn-state-wide-receiver-juwan-johnson-exploring-options-to-transfer" target="_blank">Juwan Johnson</a> and cornerback <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/sports/730276/psu-cornerback-mcphearson-plans-transfer-more-could-follow" target="_blank">Zech McPhearson</a> as players who have confirmed their intentions to play elsewhere. Safety Lamont Wade and wideout Brandon Polk have reportedly entered their names into the portal as well, though neither they nor Gellerstedt and Dalton have said anything definitive about their futures.</p><p>Two deep reserves at linebacker, Dae&#8217;Lun Darien and Brelin Faison-Walden, previously announced they were transferring to be closer to home because of illnesses in their families, with Faison-Walden headed to play at Charlotte. One member of the touted 2018 class, safety Isaiah Humphries, left after the regular season and said this week he would be enrolling at Cal.</p><p>Going back to November, tackle Sterling Jenkins was included in senior day festivities, and he will drop down a level to play his final season at FCS Duquesne.</p><p>Add in five starters who left early for the NFL &#8212; Miles Sanders, Connor McGovern, Ryan Bates, Shareef Miller and Kevin Givens &#8212; and it&#8217;s a significant amount of turnover for what had looked like a veteran roster for 2019.</p><p>It should be noted that players who have put their names in the portal are not guaranteed to leave and could choose to stick with the Lions. Penn State, however, is not obligated to hold a scholarship or a spot on the team open for them.</p><p>But while some may still be mulling their futures, Monroe seems to have his mind made up.</p><p>&#8220;I would like to thank all of my coaches for giving me the opportunity to play at Penn State, earn my degree, grow as a person, and as a player,&#8221; Monroe wrote on Twitter. &#8220;However, I feel that in order to keep my mental in check and reach my full potential as a person and as a player I need to explore other options.</p><p>&#8220;A change of scenery to keep my (fire) for the game of football and life strong is a must. With that being said, I will be transferring after I graduate this semester. I&#8217;ll always cherish the good times and remember the dark times as they both were monumental into making me who I am today. Thanks for everything!&#8221;</p><p>As a grad transfer, Monroe would be immediately eligible to play at his new school in the fall.</p><p>Monroe&#8217;s progress at Penn State was derailed last winter by shoulder surgery. He ultimately fell out of the two-deep in 2018, passed by Wade and Jonathan Sutherland as the backups to Nick Scott and Garrett Taylor.</p><p>Should Wade also leave the Lions, Sutherland would be a top candidate to start in Scott&#8217;s spot 2019 with Lackawanna College transfer Jaquan Brisker also making his case when he arrives in the summer. Penn State would also have a fifth-year senior in John Petrishen in the mix. The Lions signed four high school defensive backs in December and listed them all as cornerbacks, though one or two could end up at safety.</p><p>On offense, redshirt sophomores Gellerstedt and Dalton saw the field sparingly, with Dalton battling injuries his first two years on campus before seeing reps early in 2018.</p><p>But by the midway point of the season, true freshman Pat Freiermuth had emerged as the clear-cut starter and Dalton found himself behind the rookie and veterans Nick Bowers and Jonathan Holland. Dalton finished with three catches for 19 yards.</p><p>Gellerstedt played even less, but the Lions are looking thin at tackle moving forward with Bates gone. Will Fries will return to start at one spot with the other job open. Rasheed Walker, who redshirted in 2018, becomes a top candidate, perhaps along with Des Holmes, who has worked at tackle and guard.</p><p>Another Lackawanna transfer, Anthony Whigan, is already enrolled and figures to be in the mix, but whether it will be at tackle or guard remains to be seen.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Safety Ayron Monroe played for Penn State as a redshirt freshman in the Rose Bowl but after surgery last offseason didn&#8217;t see the field much in 2018. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_AP_17003027206501.jpg</photo0><caption0>Safety Ayron Monroe played for Penn State as a redshirt freshman in the Rose Bowl but after surgery last offseason didn&#8217;t see the field much in 2018. </caption0><photoCredit0>Mark J. Terrill | AP file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

PSU safety Ayron Monroe announces plans to transfer