The Nittany Lions finally opened up Spring Ball practice on Tuesday, and it's time to put last year officially behind them.
The best part about football is the next game. Whether you are coming off a win or a loss, there is another chance to go at it again next week.
For the Penn State Nittany Lions, it's time to put the disaster of 2025 officially in the rearview and move forward to the future under Matt Campbell.
The Campbell Era officially began on Tuesday as the Nittany Lions opened up with their first practice of the Spring Ball session. The new look Nittany Lions have one thing on their mind: getting back to the Playoffs.
Penn State came out of last year's debacle smelling like a rose. And no, I'm not referencing the bad season; I am referencing the disaster that was their coaching search. They seemingly had no play, and every person they requested turned the job down.
They lost several players to the portal, and the program looked like it was in shambles.
Then, they landed the guy they probably should have contacted at the very beginning.
Campbell comes to Happy Valley as one of the most sought-after coaches after he turned the Iowa State Cyclones into a consistent winner. Campbell has been coaching for 15 years, since he began his career at Toledo.
While leading the Rockets, he put together a 35-15 record over five seasons and made it to three Bowl Games, going 2-1 in them. He then made the jump to Iowa State to take over the Cyclones program. In his 10 years, he has a 72-55 record and has only had two losing seasons in his time there. He made seven Bowl Games, in which he went 3-4.
His best season came in 2024 when his team went 11-3 and made it as high as the No. 8 spot in the country.
He never made the College Football Playoffs at Iowa State.
Now, as he transitions to Penn State, the standard is simple. Win the Big Ten, take over Ohio State and Michigan as the big brother in the conference, get back to the College Football Playoff, and then eventually win a National Championship.
There is certainly going to be some patience with him in his first year, as he has to reset the program, but the pressure of expectation is going to come on quickly after that.
Matt Campbell and his new look Nittany Lions know what they need to do. Tuesday's first practice is the first step in a very, very long journey that hopefully will run through late January of 2027.