From road trips to team building: Former Iowa State players settling in at Penn State
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Matt Campbell's hire led many Iowa State players to transfer to Penn State.
- Players used varied relocation methods, including long cross-country drives.
- Transfers handled logistics beyond portal filings, like shipping cars and moving beds.
When Penn State hired Matt Campbell as its new head football coach in early December, it was a foregone conclusion that plenty of his players at Iowa State would follow him to Happy Valley once the transfer portal opened on Jan. 2. From the outside, it’s very simple — add a dozen-plus players from ISU to PSU and bring them to State College.
However, actually getting them to campus is much more complicated. Some flew to central Pennsylvania and had their cars shipped.
But some cut out the middle man and brought it here themselves.
“I figured I was gonna have to drive stuff out anyway,” linebacker Caleb Bacon said, laughing. “I had to move my bed and everything out. And I’m kind of a road dog. I feel like road trips are — I’m kind of into that, like a road trip. I get that from my dad, I feel like. He hates flying.”
“My dad drove the whole way,” tight end Ben Brahmer said. “I told him I wanted to, but he didn’t let me.”
Bacon’s trip took 13.5 hours in one day. Brahmer’s was 18 hours, across two days, from Nebraska. And they weren’t the only ones to drive — but once they got to Penn State, they didn’t have any reason to leave.
That first day the portal was open, the Penn State staff brought in a slew of Cyclones, like Brahmer and Bacon, for an official visit weekend — which really served as a move-in weekend. And one that helped establish the foundation of Matt Campbell football at Penn State.
Even after the players all got to State College, they were still a big group of people learning about a town most of them have never been to, and doing so by listening to a group of coaches who had spent less than a month there. That wasn’t easy. But it helped bring the group together because it was so new for all of them.
“When you have familiar faces, it just makes it so much easier,” running back Carson Hansen said. “You have those relationships built strong through the past three years, and it just made it a lot easier and the transition much smoother. So I just really appreciate having those relationships, because, they really mean everything in this type of area.”
And just because those players played for Campbell before doesn’t mean other schools couldn’t come after them when the portal opened. It’s a competitive market where every team in the country is trying to fill out its roster and some are throwing around massive amounts of cash to get the job done.
But most of those players weren’t swayed. Some didn’t even take the phone calls. But even some of those who did were clear about their intentions.
“I didn’t know how to put a do not contact tag on (in the portal),” tight end Gabe Burkle said with a smile. “I’m gonna be honest with you guys. This is all very new to me. And so I got in the portal and there were calls but there was nothing like — right from the answer point they would ask me if I was going to Penn State, I would say, yeah, thanks for the interest, and then hang up. No conversation went longer than a minute, and I didn’t need to lead them on. I didn’t need to waste their time. And I knew where I was going.”
Shutting that process down and knowing the players were coming here made it easier for everyone. The Nittany Lions were able to spend that weekend getting to know the area and doing it with people they know — and have known — for most of their college football careers.
They toured their new facility, went out to dinner, went bowling and did various other team-building exercises to adapt to the area. But even after getting to know their new home that weekend, there will still be plenty of getting used to for the newest Nittany Lion football players. Ames, Iowa is a unique place. So is State College. And each has their subtleties.
“I feel like the roads are — I don’t know what’s different but something with the driving,” guard Trevor Buhr said, before having it pointed out how mountainous the area is.
“Yeah that’s what it is! The hills,” Buhr said. “I look around, they got big ol’ hills everywhere. It’s really cool. I’m not used to that, but I love looking at them to be honest with you.”
Brahmer mentioned it too. In his two-day trek to Penn State he had to adjust to driving through far more mountains than he’d gotten used to. It may be insignificant, but it’s a microcosm of the entire situation.
Everything is new for everybody. There are large groups of people learning to blend together with other large groups of people in a place that is entirely new for a lot of them.
A process that takes time, but was at least hastened during the first weekend in January — when a group of former Cyclones came together to lay this roster’s foundation.
