Matt Campbell is making it a priority to connect the past to the future as he had another former Nittany Lion out to practice.
Spring practice is beginning to wrap up over the next two weeks, and Matt Campbell is using it to get as many alumni out to practice to check out their Nittany Lions.
Connecting the past to the present and future is a major priority for Campbell and this staff. Not to say that that wasn't the goal for the prior staff, but he is just doing everything that he can to get old players back.
Over the weekend, he added another name to the list of notable alumni to come back. Allen Robinson showed up to practice and spent some time with the wide receivers.
Robinson is the last great wide receiver that Penn State has had in the past 10 to 15 years. He played from 2011 through 2013, and in his final two years, he put up over 1,000 yards, finishing his final year just a touch south of 1,500 with 1,432 yards.
Robinson was the 61st pick in the 2014 draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He spent four seasons in Jacksonville, and he shone in year two. He had 1,400 yards on 80 catches for 14 touchdowns.
That was his best year in Jacksonville and his best season in the NFL, period. He had two other years in Chicago, where he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark before finishing his career with the Rams, Steelers, and the Lions.
Robinson coming back to campus for spring practice marks yet another notable alumnus to make the trip back to school. It started weeks ago when Campbell invited all of the letter winners from the 80s and 90s out for practice, and now guys closer to the program are starting to trickle in.
Campbell has preached that connecting the past to the future is critical for him and his program, and that is how he is going to run it.
Doing this as one of the first moves that you make as the head coach is truly a genius move. There were a ton of questions, and rightfully so, about the state of the program after the disaster of 2025.
Campbell came into a very volatile situation at Penn State that he has handled to perfection. He has successfully laid the foundation of his program, he has recruited his butt off to put together some decent future classes, and now, all that is left is to put a winner on the field.
If he does that, he will have this program and community in the palm of his hand.
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