Penn State head coach Matt Campbell has spent his first few months in Happy Valley making sure that the culture is strong for his Nittany Lion program.
Turbulent is one way to describe the last 365 days of the Penn State Football program experience.
Last season in Happy Valley was a disaster of a football year that led into a very uncomfortable offseason, but Penn State has come out smelling like a rose.
Let's make no mistake, the Penn State program was very shaky before the disaster that was last year. Penn State is a program that believes it should be competing with Ohio State every season and playing for National Championships.
In 2024, they had the chance to get to the National Championship game to take on the Buckeyes, but a wayward pass from quarterback Drew Allar was intercepted by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the program went into a tailspin immediately.
Prior to that, people began asking questions about James Franklin and the program, but 2025 was a natural breakpoint for the program, and Penn State got the opportunity to start fresh.
Then, they went into the offseason as the first program with a vacancy, yet they had one of the most uninspiring searches ever. Candidate after candidate turned down the Nittany Lions until they got the opportunity to interview Matt Campbell late in the process.
Campbell probably should have been one of the top candidates that they went after, but alas, they got their guy.
Now, Campbell is not only tasked with winning football games, but he is starting with settling the waters around the program. From players to coaches to fans, there is a lot of uncertainty around the Nittany Lions because everyone was burned pretty badly from last year.
Winning will cure all of that, but before then, Campbell is set on connecting the past to the present in the program.
On Saturday, former quarterback Chuck Fusina was back at practice along with several former lettermen from the 60s through the 80s.
Fusina was well before his time. He was a three-year starter for the Nittany Lions, and he finished his career with 5,382 yards for 37 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. He finished second in Heisman Trophy voting in the 1978 season. That season, he won the Maxwell Award and was also an All-American.
The connection that Campbell is making between the past and the future is important for immediate buy-in from the community and alumni as he begins his tenure.
What will seal the deal is a bunch of wins come the fall.
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