Penn State head coach Matt Campbell highlights the interesting process that led to the Nittany Lions hiring Kashif Moore as their wide receivers coach.
One of the strengths of Matt Campbell coached teams has been their receiving core. However, a major weakness of Penn State teams has consistently been their lack of production from the wide receiver position.
Year after year, the Nittany Lions have lacked production at that position and part of what Campbell is tasked with doing as the head coach in Happy Valley is flipping that script.
To do that, he hired former college star and NFL player Kashif Moore.
Moore played at UConn from 2008 through 2011, where he was a team captain and finished his career in the record book as he sits top-10 in catches with 126. Moore then went off to the NFL where he landed contracts with Cincinatti, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City before he left football altogether.
He tried his hand in business before realizing that his passion was in football, specifically coaching. He began coaching at the high school level at Conrad High before returning to Stoors to begin his college coaching career.
Moore spent three seasons as UConn's wide receivers coach, and the crown jewel accomplishment in his tenure was the development of Skylar Bell, who was a Belitnikoff Finalist in 2025 and an All-American.
Moore will be in charge of the most critical position group in Campbell's offense, and Campbell talked about how important it was during the interview process to listen to how all of the candidates taught. Teaching is the foundation of development, and Campbell's hire of Moore had that at the forefront of his decision.
Campbell's finest accomplishment in his coaching career goes back to the 2024 season where his Cyclones put up an 11-3 record and were ranked as high as No. 8 in the country.
That year, his two leading wide receivers are both now in the NFL but registered nearly 1,200 yards each with 17 touchdowns combined.
It's been over 10 years at least since Penn State had multiple 1,000 yard wide receivers and they have only had two first round wide receiver draft picks since the year 2000.
Penn State has been a wide receiver wasteland for the past decade-plus. It is priority number one for Campbell and Moore to turn that part of the program around. If they can do that, that will be the first step in changing the feeling of the Penn State program.
Campbell has his work cut out for him, but if anyone knows how to get the most out of his wide outs, it is him.