Transfer WR Dante Cephas bringing 'the complete package' to Penn State

Daequan Hardy was the star four years ago in Hershey. Now a starting nickel back at Penn State, Hardy led Penn Hills to a 2018 PIAA championship win over Manheim Central with four touchdowns, three interceptions and 340 all-purpose yards. His incredible individual effort helped secure Penn Hills’ second state title.

But the Indians wouldn’t have finished 16-0 without Hardy’s former (and soon to be current) teammate.

Dante Cephas announced Sunday that he’s transferring from Kent State to Penn State. Cephas, one of the best players available in the transfer portal, could become the Nittany Lions’ No. 1 wide receiver in 2023 after racking up 130 catches for 1,984 yards and 12 touchdowns the past seasons with the Golden Flashes.

The former Penn Hills star is slated to finish classes at Kent State before enrolling at Penn State in the summer. Cephas will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Cephas was near the top of James Franklin’s portal wish list and with reason. The Pittsburgh native has the ability to change Penn State’s offensive trajectory in 2023, just as he did with Penn Hills four years ago.

“They’re getting the complete package in Dante,” former Penn Hills coach Jon LeDonne said. “He’s a big, long, athletic receiver. Very, very explosive. He’s not afraid to go across the middle. He’s a strong individual as well.”

LeDonne called Cephas “a happy guy who’s always in a good mood.” The coach never had any issues with him in their two seasons together, only fond memories.

LeDonne, now the coach at Pine-Richland, remembers arriving at Penn Hills in June 2017. One of the first things he did was watch tape from the 2016 junior varsity team to see if he had any up-and-comers. Cephas jumped out right away.

“Some of these one-handed catches he was making and going up for everything and running after the catch,” LeDonne said, “we knew we had a special player.”

Cephas was a big play waiting to happen at Penn Hills. As a junior and senior, he had 985 receiving yards, 13 touchdowns, three interceptions, two blocked punts and a punt return touchdown. While Hardy had the PIAA heroics, Cephas stepped up in the 2018 WPIAL title win over West Allegheny with scores of 65 and 56 yards.

Cephas and Hardy, along with Penn State walk-on Tank Smith, provided the spark for Penn Hills’ historic season. Hardy scored 22 touchdowns five ways (receiving, rushing, interception return, kick return, punt return). Smith totaled 2,013 yards and 26 scores, setting the school’s single-season rushing record.

“That senior group played unselfish,” LeDonne said. “If teams decided they wanted to take Daequan away, Dante always stepped up and made plays and vice versa. Then you had Tank in the middle of it all. It was a trio that was hard to stop.”

And yet, only Hardy was offered a Power 5 scholarship. Smith started his college career at St. Francis (Pa.) before walking on at Penn State ahead of the 2020 season. Cephas visited Wisconsin, Pitt and Cincinnati, but his FBS offers were exclusively from MAC schools (Kent State, Bowling Green, Toledo, Central Michigan).

LeDonne spoke with Cephas about his recruitment and posited that if he’s successful at Kent State, “additional opportunities will come.” And they sure did.

When Cephas entered his name into the transfer portal Dec. 5, his inbox was flooded with offers from Penn State, Pitt, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Miami and Kansas. On Dec. 6, he had offers from Georgia, Virginia Tech and Maryland. A couple days later, Deion Sanders and Colorado wanted him.

As intriguing as it must have been to play for Coach Prime, Cephas saw an opportunity in State College. Penn State, without Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, needed an explosive veteran to add to a relatively young receiver room. And the Nittany Lions’ staff made Cephas a top-tier priority.

Penn State’s pursuit paid off Sunday night. Cephas choosing the Nittany Lions over his hometown Panthers and a bevy of other Power Five options is a big get.

Penn State isn’t finished molding its offense around Drew Allar. The Nittany Lions recently hosted Florida State transfer Malik McClain and have a good shot of signing the former four-star receiver. If they don’t, Penn State’s staff — with a new receivers coach after Taylor Stubblefield was fired — will keep hitting the portal.

For now, though, Cephas’ commitment is worth celebrating if you’re Franklin. And after years of work to get to this point, it’s worth cherishing if you’re Cephas.