Penn State head coach Matt Campbell was mic'd up for Spring Practice No. 4, and he was dialed into the team's fundamentals.
Penn State head coach Matt Campbell's era in Happy Valley is officially underway, and one thing is going to be true: this team is going to execute the fundamentals.
This is something that all good teams do and execute at a high level. It's the way that Campbell turned around the Iowa State Cyclones and made them into a nationally relevant team, and it is the way that he is going to turn the Penn State program around.
For Campbell, it isn't just executing the fundamentals on the field, but doing it off the field, too.
The new locker room sign, Nittany Lion Code of Conduct, went a little viral on the internet last week after it was posted. He called the Nittany Lions to say "please" and "thank you" when asking for something, be polite, respond with "sir" and "ma'am", and be respectful to others.
Also known as the fundamentals of life.
On the field, his mic'd-up video was very telling about what he is focusing on with his players.
He is bouncing all around the field, checking in on how his players are doing, coaching players to explode off their proper foot, coaching up the running backs on how they are holding the football, asking the quarterbacks where their eyes are, and then challenging his players to grow.
The fundamentals of the field.
This approach isn't a far cry from what every coach in America preaches, and it isn't all that far from what the previous regime was preaching. However, it is the things that got away from the Nittany Lions during their program-breaking losing streak last year.
Campbell's approach to this team is a fascinating one. He has to walk a very fine line by dealing with the new players that he is inheriting that stuck around at Penn State while blending in the 24 Iowa State transfers that he brought with him.
Once the team all gets on the same page and are all rowing in the same direction, they will have the opportunity to quickly get back to the National power that they are expected to be.
Until then, they need to hone in on the fundamentals and execute them at a very high level.
Campbell is going to push the guys to get them there.
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