For Matt Campbell, an Emotional Introduction to Penn State

STATE COLLEGE | Matt Campbell has no roots at Penn State and had never been to campus before becoming the program’s 17th head football coach. Yet it still represented a “full-circle moment.”

“It’s one of the greatest honors of my life, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be here,” he said. “... I know the history of this place.”

Penn State introduced Campbell, the former Iowa State head coach, during a press conference Monday at Beaver Stadium in which Campbell talked about his roots in Ohio and his family’s deep ties to western Pennsylvania. In his opening statement, Campbell immediately mentioned Todd Blackledge, Kyle Brady and Joe Paterno.

“This young boy that grew up in Massillon, Ohio, all you heard about was Todd Blackledge and you understood his excellence and what he stood for,” an emotional Campbell said. “To spending so much of my childhood in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, my great-grandfather who worked in the coal mines and my grandparents who worked [there], and all you heard around family discussions was coach Paterno and the toughness and the character of the Penn State football program.”

Campbell is well-versed in Penn State’s history. When he walked through the Lasch Football Building for the first time, he said he had “goosebumps” as looking at the names of Penn State lettermen listed in the building’s halls.

“You could almost feel goosebumps going down the side of your arms looking at some of these incredible names,” Campbell said. “Some of the best, Jack Ham, some of the best ever to play the sport of football. You knew their excellence and what they stood for: a blue-blood football program, no question. The sacrifice, the passion of so many of you individually to become the best and collectively to have some of the greatest teams in the history of college football.”

Penn State coach Matt Campbell invokes Todd Blackledge, Joe Paterno and Kyle Brady in his introduction. pic.twitter.com/Ikjy9iejgv
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) December 8, 2025

As a 16-year-old high school football player in Ohio, Campbell said he wanted to be like Brady, the All-America tight end. During his one season at Pitt in 1998, Campbell remembered seeing Paterno, LaVar Arrington and Courtney Brown walk onto the field at the old Pitt Stadium. “It’s ingrained in my head for the rest of my life,” he said.

And though he never met Paterno or knows Bill O’Brien or James Franklin personally, Campbell took time to appreciate what they did for the program while recognizing his journey to Penn State was much different.

“I'm not the guy that came up probably like some of those guys,” he said. “I came up in the [Division] III football world, and so I'm all right with that. But I know they're great men and they did a great job here.”

The decision to leave Iowa State after 10 years wasn’t easy. Campbell has turned down several jobs in the past because he never wanted to be the guy to “bounce around.” So why Penn State?

“If we were ever going to leave Iowa State, I wanted to go somewhere and I wanted to finish my career and I wanted to stand for something that’s bigger than Matt Campbell,” he said. “It’s not about me, but about the players and representing something bigger than myself and I found that.”

Campbell isn’t the only Iowa State coach to make the move from Ames to State College. Cael Sanderson, Penn State’s wrestling coach, is an Iowa State alum and former head wrestling coach who has led the Nittany Lions to 12 NCAA championships. The two spoke for 45 minutes Saturday.

“We talked about our similar journeys and similar paths,” Campbell said. “We’ve watched Cael from afar and talked about building excellence in a program the way Cael has. And to be able to link arms with him, I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Just as he seeks out the character of players he recruits, Campbell said he did that with Athletic Director Pat Kraft and Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. He needed one conversation with each to determine that Penn State would be a good fit.

“If we’re going to lead, we want to lead with the best,” Campbell said. “I knew what their demand was if they wanted to be the best for the right reasons.”

Campbell spoke passionately, understanding the role he’s stepping into. He had tremendous success at Iowa State, reinvigorating a culture unaccustomed to winning and developing players beyond their skills on the field. At Penn State, the foundation already exists for Campbell to build on to bring it to the next level.

“Our scars are our superpower,” Campbell said. “If you’re humble enough to grow through success and failure, then you continue to put yourself in position to be the best. It’s when we stop growing that failure starts to seep in.”

Penn State Nittany Lions football coach Matt Campbell poses with a jersey during his introductory press conference. — Penn State Nittany Lions football coach Matt Campbell poses with a jersey during his introductory press conference in State College. | Mark Wogenrich | Penn State on SI

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