Two now former Penn State players – punter Alex Bacchetta and receiver Cristian Driver – entered the transfer portal on Monday at the outset of the 30-window according to reports. Neither were significant factors during Penn State’s 2023 campaign but both figured to potentially have larger roles in the future.
For his part Bacchetta came to Penn State with high expectations as one of the premiere punters in the 2022 class. He redshirted his first season on campus and was eventually beaten out for the starting job by Riley Thompson. As an aside, there had been some question of Thompson’s – a native of Australia – remaining eligibility [when asked to clarify his status earlier in the season Thompson opted not to answer] but Bacchetta’s departure appears to signal that the conventional wisdom that Thompson has at least one year of eligibility remaining.
As for Driver, the son of NFL great Donald Drive never quite found his footing in Penn State’s offense, spending the majority of the year on special teams while recording one reception against Delaware early in the year.
Penn State’s receivers room is in desperate need of consistency, but between players further up the depth chart and potential incoming transfer portal targets, Driver might see the writing on the wall for his long term contribution to the program. Driver originally enrolled to Penn State as a cornerback before flipping over to the offensive side of the ball in 2023.
Both Driver and Bacchetta are both permitted to return to Penn State if they so choose but both player’s profile have already been scrubbed from the program’s website.
