College football is full of second chances. Anthony Ivey is taking a chance to prove himself and get a shot in the NFL.

The former Manheim Township wide receiver took his talents from Penn State to San Jose State for his final season of college football.

Ivey played at Manheim Township from the 2018-19 school year to 2021-22. He totaled 2,043 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns with the Blue Streaks.

Ivey was a four-star recruit and chose to attend Penn State. He also had offers from Auburn, Arizona State, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

“The biggest thing for me was being able to stay close to home,” Ivey said last week in a telephone interview. “I think that was one of my biggest factors coming out of high school; the convenience of being two hours away, Mom being able to come to the games and all that.”

The wide receiver played in every game the last two seasons for the Nittany Lions, but spent most of his time on special teams. He recorded one catch for 15 yards in four seasons at Penn State.

“When you’re playing in a stadium like Beaver and getting into games that Penn State has in other stadiums, it’s just getting on the field at all, whether it’s special teams, end of game or just for a couple of plays, just having that in your back pocket, it helps anybody,” Ivey said.

The Lancaster native never had the chance to show what he could do at the college level at Penn State because of the receivers in front of him, so he entered the transfer portal this past offseason and took his talents to San Jose State.

“It was really just needing a change of scenery, new coaching staff, just getting away from home,” Ivey said. “I felt like coming this far was going to allow me to grow the most, so that’s why, ultimately, I decided to come the whole way out here.”

Something to keep in mind about the transfer portal. When a player joins a new team, it’s a whole new world.

For Ivey, it’s new teammates, new coaches and new schemes. In a short amount of time, the team must build chemistry.

“It involves a lot of player-to-player communication and a lot of player-to-player trust,” Ivey said. “A lot of time has to be spent not just on the field or in meetings or in the building, but off the field. Getting together with the guys going here, going there, just doing little things with everybody, it just slowly builds chemistry.”

Ivey saw his teammates in the building everyday, but made sure to focus of-the-field activities when he joined the Spartans.

“We would come and get together on an off week and on an off day, all the quarterbacks and all the skill players,” Ivey said. “On an off day, we’re out on the field, talking through plays and certain routes and certain looks, so really just doing all of those things, it really does help a lot. Not to mention you know dinners and that aspect.”

San Jose State is very different from Penn State. In San Jose, there are a lot of things to see and places to go; it benefits the players when you’re trying to get to know new teammates and coaches.

“There’s always something to do,” Ivey said. “You can go to San Francisco, or Santa Clara beach, or here’s (San Jose) pretty nice. There’s a lot of things to do and a lot of sightseeing spots.”

It’s a much-needed fresh start for Ivey, who is expected to be the top target for the Spartans as he aspires to show what he can do.

“I think it just starts with going out there with the right mindset and just trusting what I and the team have been doing for the last five, six months,” Ivey said. “I’ve seen what I’ve been doing and what this team can and has been doing, so I think just going out there and trusting it is the biggest thing.”

In terms of the next level, that’s Ivey’s goal. This is his final year of eligibility and his final chance to prove to NFL teams why he deserves a chance in the future.

“Just got to put my best foot forward,” Ivey said.

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