Penn State Football: Time to Panic About Transfers?

On Sunday evening Fight On State reported that offensive lineman Alex Mateas transferred out of Penn State. This was the third transfer over the past couple of weeks, so fans may be wondering if it is time to be concerned about what is happening at State College.

No, it is not time to push that panic button.

Transfers at this time of the season are nothing out of the ordinary, although the fact that Penn State has lost three players in a relatively short time span is reason to raise an eyebrow.

Mateas transferring follows the news that quarterback Kevin Newsome and offensive lineman Tom Ricketts are also on their way out. All three players are leaving for various reasons, but none are sounding an alarm on the way out.

Mateas is rumored to be battling a back injury, and the Ottawa native may just be looking for a way to focus on his health first and foremost. Newsome realized that his opportunity to play football was closing in on him at State College after Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin bypassed him on the depth chart last season. Bolden and McGloin were also expected to be the two candidates for the starting job again in 2011. Ricketts, part of a family deeply rooted in Pittsburgh Panthers athletics, made a decision to transfer to Pitt after being homesick at State College.

Newsome and Ricketts were both considered to be talented recruits for the program when they were brought in, and you can argue that Penn State did not do enough to get these players properly acclimated within the program.

If Ricketts was homesick, could Penn State have done anything differently to make him feel more comfortable? Or is homesickness something that cannot be controlled? Is it Penn State's fault that Newsome failed to live up to the potential he was said to have, or was the hype misguided?

The debate will rage on about whether or not this is a disturbing trend at State College, but a quick look around the nation will show many reports of players transferring out of their current programs.

Penn State is no different, although it seems like losing three players is more than the national average. Losing three players certainly hurts the overall depth for the upcoming season, just weeks away from kicking off, but in the grand scheme there does not seem to be any reason to start fretting over the future of the program.

Kevin McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Google+ and Twitter. Become a fan of him on Facebook.