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Reports: Penn State loses another player to transfer

Backup offensive guard Alex Mateas has left the Penn State program and plans to transfer, fightonstate.com reported on Sunday. Mateas would be the third Nittany Lion to leave the team to seek a transfer in the past week.

Backup offensive guard Alex Mateas has left the Penn State program and plans to transfer, fightonstate.com reported on Sunday. Mateas would be the third Nittany Lion to leave the team to seek a transfer in the past week.

Mateas, a redshirt freshman, was listed as the third left guard on Penn State's preseason depth chart behind starter Johnnie Troutman and St. Joseph's Prep product Mark Arcidiacono.

Mateas, who is 6-foot-3 and 302 pounds and an Ottawa, Canada native, played left tackle for the Ottawa Sooners in the Canadian Junior Football League before coming to Penn State last fall.

He is the second offensive lineman to depart in the last week, as third-string left tackle Tom Ricketts, also a redshirt freshman, recently transferred to Pittsburgh. Third-string quarterback Kevin Newsome has also reportedly left the program and intends to transfer.

Though they were not expected to see significant, if any, playing time this season, the departure of these players does hurt Penn State's depth at quarterback and on the offensive line.

A four-star recruit, Newsome came to Penn State in 2009 with expectations that he would be the heir apparent to Daryll Clark at quarterback. However, Newsome was beaten out by true freshman Rob Bolden last season and fell to third on the depth chart behind Bolden and former walk-on Matt McGloin.

Scout.com rated Ricketts a four-star recruit out of North Allegheny Senior High School in Wexford, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh. Mateas was not rated by scout.com.

Monday marked Penn State's fifth practice of the preseason and first practice with players wearing full pads. The team's annual media day is scheduled for Thursday, with coach Joe Paterno speaking to the media at 2:15 p.m.

--Jake Kaplan