Spring practice is underway, so it’s a time for optimism! Things are quite different this time around, as Matt Campbell takes over a new era of Penn State, with James Franklin now at Virginia Tech after 12 seasons in Happy Valley. Let’s take a look of a few changes we can hope for under the new regime:
Improvement from the Entire Wide Receivers Room
Let’s start with the most obvious. Penn State’s offense has been held back for the lack of production from the wide receivers over the last three seasons. The 2023 team had what may have been the most complete defense in the nation. However, a lack of downfield passing helped make the offense easy to defend, especially against the top defenses on the schedule. It was more of the same in 2024, culminating in a heartbreaker to Notre Dame in the semifinals where the receivers contributed nothing – literally 0 catches in a game that could have sent them to the national championship. Things improved slightly in 2025 thanks to the addition of three veteran receivers from the portal, but the trio of Devonte Ross, Trebor Pena and Kyron Hudson still fell far short of the numbers produced at their previous schools.
The good news? Matt Campbell and staff have an impressive history of developing receivers, with several lightly-recruited prospects making their way to the NFL. However, things did not get off to an ideal start as new wide receivers coach Noah Pauley quickly exited Penn State for the Green Bay Packers before he could even unpack his bags. Pauley was replaced by Kashif Moore from UCONN, who guided star receiver Skyler Bell as the program’s first consensus All-American following a season with 101 catches, 1,278 receiving yards and 13 scores in 2025.
Can Moore reinvigorate a position group known for recent struggles in Happy Valley? There’s reason to think so. Moore will inherit a group of Cyclone transfers that saw ample production in Ames. Chase Sowell, a 6-3 senior, could be poised for the NFL in 2027, while junior Brett Eskildsen is a gifted route-runner with a knack for getting open. There is also the return of Koby Howard, who could be a star-in-the making, as well as Peter Gonzalez and Lyrick Samuel, two young receivers with untapped potential that should see the field in 2026.
Better Alignment for the Quarterback and Offensive Scheme
Just prior to the dismissal of Franklin, I made the joke that the team’s offensive identity under him was “a quarterback who was the wrong fit for the offense.” There was a lot of truth to it though. The last several seasons under Drew Allar are exhibit A. It seemed like Franklin wanted to go out and get the most highly-recruited quarterback as possible, then throw them into a system and hoped it worked.
What we got was a classic dropback quarterback, installed in an RPO-heavy attack that didn’t meet his natural skillset. This needs to be a thing of the past for Penn State to reach the next level.
Perhaps this is the reason Campbell was so eager to bring in quarterback Rocco Becht, who started the last three seasons for the Cyclones. While Becht may not appear on any Heisman watchlists, he knows the ins and outs of the offense and should do wonders to lead the unit and get everyone on the same page. He will need to do this on a short timeframe however, as he will be missing spring practice while recovering from shoulder surgery.
Beat a National Title Contender
Sorry for being Captain Obvious, but Penn State absolutely needs to start beating the big boys if they will ever return to being a highly-ranked contender – not just a good program that wins a lot of games, but can’t compete with the true contenders.
Despite Penn State’s roster being built up in terms of top-end talent and depth, they could just not get over the hump when playing a highly-ranked opponent. It wasn’t a lack of effort, or ill-conceived gameplans, or just plain dumb luck. Whenever the Nittany Lions had a chance to prove themselves against a top-tier opponent, they would always be on the wrong side of the pivotal play or two that determined the game. Always. I mean….ALWAYS.
It was a frustrating “Groundhog Day” experience to see the outcome play out the same way time and time again. Penn State will need to shake this reputation with a big win or two early in the Campbell era to help get things to prove they can play with anyone.
Reporting on Player Availability
Look, I completely understand why Franklin kept injury news so close to the chest. Why let your opponent know who will be taking the field?
Does it make any difference at all, though? I’m sure teams have intel on who to expect in the lineup, and even if they don’t, it shouldn’t be too hard to make quick adjustments at this level. For instance, a staff would need to be completely unprepared not to notice that an team’s starting safeties are both out, and they should test the inexperienced players by going over the top or getting them out of their run lanes. Or that the best downfield threat is out of the game, and it could be time to stack the box with him on the sidelines.
Time and time again, we would hear “we’ll see where they are at in a day or two, hopefully we’ll have him back on Saturday.” Weeks would pass before the assumption that they will be out for the season.
More transparency would be welcome after many years of not knowing when or if we’ll see certain players on the field again.
