Penn State kicks off its 140th season on Saturday, and Matt Campbell believes that it is just that it will be their superpower this year.
Matt Campbell's road to Penn State has certainly been a unique one, but he has taken every twist and turn on the chin and done his best to put the program first.
One of the unique parts of this season is that it is both Campbell's first year at the helm and it is the 140th season of Penn State football.
Campbell has proven himself to be an incredibly deep thinker, and there is so much deeper than the surface level and everything about this experience as the Penn State head coach, he has embraced and garnered something from.
He was asked what it means to carry this team into the 140th season of Penn State football, and he pointed to just that as their "superpower."
Campbell said, "The biggest embrace is our history. What makes Penn State special is the history of this place. There are so many key figures that have made up the last 100-plus years of Penn State football. Understanding that is the superpower of Penn State. It is who has come before us, what they have done to allow us to have a platform to play in front of this unbelievable crowd..."
Campbell continued to preach about what the alumni base and fan base mean to this program, and he didn't mince words. This is a person who knows exactly what has come before him at Penn State and knows that it is his responsibility to push it forward.
It is mindsets like that which remove any doubt from the mind. When a coach or a team removes themselves from a situation and starts playing for the program, for their peers, for the players and coaches who have all come before them, that's when the next level is unlocked.
It's a unique test for Campbell, as the majority of his team is new to Penn State. Whether they transferred in from anywhere or came with Campbell from Iowa State, a lot of this is new to them.
What isn't new to anyone is what Penn State has meant to the history of college football.
There have been National Championship years, there have been great seasons, there have been forgettable seasons, there has been scandal, there has been resurgence, and most importantly, there have been true legends who have put on the blue and white.
This year's team is the 144th version of this storied program, and Campbell isn't going to accept anything less than the standard.
It all gets started on Saturday.
