Penn State added three defensive tackles in the transfer portal heading into today, but now you can add another one to the list as former Utah defensive tackle Dallas Vakalahi signed with Penn State on Thursday.
Vakalahi is a 6-foot-2, 313-pound defensive tackle originally from Utah. He was a three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, but like most (?)
Polynesians living in Utah, Vakalahi is Mormon and did a mission trip for two years after high school. He enrolled at Utah in 2024, and broke into the DT rotation right away. As a freshman, he played in 9 games and started 4 games, averaging 28 snaps per game and finishing the season with 16 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 2 sacks.
Vakalahi came into the 2025 season as a starter for the Utes, but went down with an injury just two snaps into the season-opener against UCLA. While he came back and still played in 9 games, he dealt with injury throughout the year and only finished the season with 11 tackles and nothing on the TFL or sack front.
Still despite the “down” 2025 season, Vakalahi seems like a quality add from the portal. He had two seasons of eligibility remaining, and has already showed he can be a legitimate rotation piece on a good Utah defense. That will likely be his role here in 2026, as Penn State continues to add some real beef on the interior of the defensive line.
Here’s a ~projected~ depth chart of the defensive tackles:
1-Tech: Keanu Williams (RS SR+) — Dallas Vakalahi (JR) — De’Andre Cook (RS SO)
3-Tech: Armstrong Nnodim (RS SO) — Ty Blanding (RS JR) — Liam Andrews (RS SO) — Alijah Carnell (RS SO)
We’ll see who else they add, but the depth is much improved from where it was a few days ago.
