Villanova's Andrew Ott, a redshirt freshman forward, has transferred to Penn State and will play for the Nittany Lions next season, according to a press release yesterday.

The 6-foot-10 Ott registered for classes at University Park yesterday and will begin classes this week. And though he will not be able to play in games for the rest of this season, he will be eligible to play for Penn State after the upcoming fall semester is finished.

Penn State coach Ed DeChellis hopes Ott will practice with the team by Friday.

"We recruited him out of high school -- he visited here," DeChellis said. "Things just materialized this past weekend. We were able to work things out and get him up here."

While at Villanova, Ott struggled to get significant playing time. He was redshirted for the 2006-2007 season and saw the court just four times this year and played a total of 16 minutes. He scored three points this season, with his last appearance coming in a win at Syracuse on Jan. 19.

With the addition of Ott, Penn State will add needed size to its roster. Brandon Hassell, a 6-foot-11 forward, graduates this year, meaning Ott could be the tallest player on the team along with current junior and 6-foot-10 Joonas Suotamo. No other players are 6-foot-10 or taller.

DeChellis said Ott not only can rebound effectively and play well in the post, but he also has a good shooting range.

Ott's size could be a major boost for the Lions, as Penn State was ninth in the conference in rebounds per Big Ten game (30).

Ott could also help defensively with his ability to block shots, as the Lions are last in the conference with just seven blocks in seven Big Ten games.

Ott was a three-star recruit coming out of Philadelphia's Germantown Academy back in 2006, according to Scout.com. He was recruited by schools like Penn State, North Carolina and Wake Forest before ultimately signing with the Wildcats. He scored more than 1,000 career points and averaged 19.2 points per game his senior high school season.

Ott's transfer means that he expects to see more playing time with Penn State than if he decided to stay a Wildcat. When the fall semester is completed, he will have 2.5 years of eligibility. Though Villanova coach Jay Wright will lose Ott, he said he would still support Ott's decision.

"Andrew has been an outstanding member of the Villanova basketball family and we are going to miss him," Villanova coach Jay Wright said in a press release.

"While we are sad to see Andrew go, it is important to our coaching staff to support our players in pursuing their goals."