How new head coach Matt Campbell plans to build his team at Penn State
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New era of Penn State football
Penn State football has its next coach. Read more about Matt Campbell and what he’ll bring to the Nittany Lions.
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There are a number of things head coaches have to do on their first day on the job at a place like Penn State. There are photo ops, press conferences, meetings with donors and all sorts of things that have nothing to do with actually coaching football. But at 2 p.m. on Monday, new Penn State head coach Matt Campbell was able to do the thing that may impact his program’s future most — meet with the current team.
That will be a part of the process for Campbell as he evaluates everything within the program in his first week.
“I got to meet a couple guys [Sunday] when I got to go through the facility when we got in [Sunday] night,” Campbell told a small group of reporters after his introductory press conference. “Some of the guys were hanging around, which is great. A couple guys we know from the recruiting journey that we’ve got relationships with already. ... Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, every player in this program, it is my mission to sit down as long as they need, or as long as they want.”
And that process will help determine what year one looks like as he begins to build the Nittany Lions in his image.
The good news for Campbell is that he will have far more resources than he has ever had in the past to build a coaching staff and a roster to compete at the highest levels of college football.
He spoke matter-of-factly when asked just how much more money he will have at Penn State than he did at Iowa State.
“All of it,” he said with a smile, drawing laughs from the room. “There was never a chance during our time at Iowa State where we had the ability to compete with who we were going against. So you had to win on all the other things.”
While Campbell couldn’t provide an exact number — he said he’d be able to answer that later when he can look at things closer — The Inside Zone’s Matt Fortuna reported that Penn State committed to roughly $30 million in NIL money in negotiations with the new head coach.
The vast difference in resources should allow Campbell to build the best roster he’s ever had in short order. He’s going to be able to target his best talent from Iowa State if those players choose to enter the transfer portal — along with some of the other top players in the country.
But that doesn’t mean he’s going to rebuild a new team in the portal every year. Campbell emphasized his track record of developing players that come to his program straight from high school, and made it clear that high school recruiting will be a major part of his program at Penn State.
That will be easier for him, too, because he’s going to be able to compete for better talent on the recruiting trail and will be able to bring in recruits that have a higher floor and ceiling than those with the Cyclones. But still, he’s going to prioritize what he likes in players, and that starts at quarterback, where the little things can matter most.
“To me that’s been one of our great successes during our time at Iowa State — always being able to find a quarterback and develop a quarterback to be really special,” Campbell said. “... It’s fit. It’s the relationship with the head coach. The head coach and the quarterback better be linked at the hip. ... The quarterback has got to have the leadership ability, the toughness and the grit, to control the locker room. I think you’re always looking for the right intangibles that way.”
That’s going to be one of the most important positions for Campbell to figure out — especially for next season. Expectations would usually be tempered in year one for a new head coach, but because he’ll have the financial resources, and because the team’s schedule next year looks relatively easy, Campbell is set up to win as many as 10 games in 2026.
But to do that, he’ll need to land a high-level quarterback. One who can play right away — maybe even one like Rocco Becht, who started for three years at Iowa State under Campbell.
And while quarterback is going to be important, so will Campbell’s staff. He could opt to blend holdovers from Penn State’s staff (Terry Smith is already staying on and others could join him in doing so) with some of his coaches from Iowa State and other programs.
The two most important jobs will be offensive and defensive coordinator. And Campbell knows what he wants to see on both sides of the ball.
“It’s got to be complementary football,” Campbell said. “It has to match. And the reality of it is players, formations, plays. Who are your players? What formations do you get in? What plays do you run? If it’s anything else, you’re going to underachieve. ... Do you have to adapt? That’s called coaching. The fool says this is just who we are and what we do. That’s foolish. Every year it changes, every year you’ve got to be able to adapt.”
While Campbell wants flexibility, the names he can attract will be telling in how he can build at Penn State. The program has the financial strength to get the best coaches in the country and should have the head coach to attract that level of talent to join him. Nailing those hires will go a long way in figuring out what comes next for Penn State and Campbell.
And will go a long way in determining just how high his ceiling is with his new program.
