Matt Campbell's Comment Shows He Cares More Than James Franklin Did

For better or worse, there's a new era in Happy Valley, as Penn State made a major change to its coaching staff when it decided to move on from James Franklin for new head coach Matt Campbell. 

Campbell, the former head coach at Iowa State, is taking over a program that has found considerable success throughout its history, giving him not only a great opportunity but also greater pressure.

Penn State football, while it has faced some adversity over the past decade or so, has remained one of the better programs in America during that span. 

While the decision to move on from Franklin was the right one at the time, it will also lead to many questions for the Nittany Lions. Campbell will have to deal with the pressure of that as well, though it seems like this is the right guy for the job, as he understands how big of an honor it is to be the head coach at such a prestigious university and football program.

“I don’t know if there’s a greater tradition, both on and off the field of excellence, than what Penn State football is,” Campbell said, per Nittany Sports Now. “I feel like we’ve made great headway, and at the end of the day, we continue to sprint to work every day to represent this program and its history the right way.”

Having the backing of all-time greats in Penn State history is definitely something that needs to happen as well for the program to get back to the top. It sounds like many are on board with what Campbell has done, including a legend and the father of a current player on the roster.

"(Campbell is) secure in who he is is all about,” LaVar Arrington told NSN, “what Penn State represents and building it like this. You know, for it to be a new chapter for our program, I’m confident that he’s the type of guy that can really be a positive asset to our program. And to our university and our community as a whole.”

Only time will tell if this was the right hire, but I expect things will be fine, and Campbell will help take this program to the heights it deserves.