Luke Reynolds was the next in line. The 2024 five-star recruit was the obvious replacement for Tyler Warren and the heir to the Tight End U throne passed down from Mike Gesicki to Pat Freiermuth to Brenton Strange to Theo Johnson and then to Warren. Then, everything unraveled in Happy Valley.
Of course, it started with James Franklin’s firing, but Reynolds’ sophomore season was a bit underwhelming, catching just 26 passes for 257 yards with no trips to the end zone, and ceding playing time to redshirt sophomore Andrew Rappleyea. So, with Rappleyea coming back for 2026 under the newly hired Matt Campbell, Reynolds is heading to the transfer portal, and is considered one of the top tight ends on open market.
However, once the transfer portal officially opened on January 2, Campbell and general manager Derek Hoodjer, who came with him from Iowa State, wasted absolutely no time finding their Luke Reynolds replacement. And they didn’t have to look very hard…