How a Phone Call Changed the Course of Cam Wallace's Career at Penn State

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State running back Cam Wallace was about to call head coach Matt Campbell when he was in the transfer portal last January. But he received a call from Campbell first.

“It was kind of crazy,” Wallace said. “It kind of all just hit at the same time. He was going to ask me, ‘What was I thinking?’ I was gonna call him to let him know I was coming back.”

Wallace initially entered the transfer portal after Penn State’s 2025 season before withdrawing his name only days later. His family is at the center of why he decided to return to Penn State, and Campbell said he’s grateful that Wallace did, particularly after his breakout performance in the Nittany Lions’ 31-17 win over Purdue last Saturday.

An emotional phone call home

When Wallace spoke to the media after the Nittany Lions’ victory, he said he hadn’t checked his phone yet. He was going to call his family in his hometown of Mount Vernon, Georgia, and expected it to be an emotional conversation.

“It was exactly like what I said it was gonna be,” Wallace said after practice Wednesday. “It’s just good hearing from the people back home that's watching me on TV. They’re just proud of me for what I'm doing, and I'm just thankful for real.”

Wallace is close with his family. He said he gets his mental resilience from his mother Toya, which helped him overcome plenty at Penn State. Wallace broke both legs during the same play in a game against Kent State in 2024, an injury that impacted him into last season.

His aunt and grandmother are “critical pieces” to Wallace’s upbringing as well, Campbell said. Campbell spoke to Wallace’s aunt a day before the running back decided to return, and the head coach felt that his aunt and grandmother both wanted him to stay at Penn State.

“They wanted him to finish his degree,” Campbell said. “They wanted him to have the opportunity to compete forward.”

Wallace said he returned to Penn State to finish what he started. It was a stressful time for Wallace when he was in the portal, but talking to his family led him to return to Penn State.

His decision paid off Saturday, when he took 22 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown. It was a career day for Wallace, who cried tears of joy in the locker room.

“I told him that Saturday night after the game how proud his mother would be, how proud his grandmother and his aunt would be because I think the resilience of how he got his opportunity,” Campbell said. “You've got to earn it. Man, how this guy practiced, what you guys saw Saturday is what was on the practice field for the last two weeks.”

Wallace's breakout performance reset the position

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Cam Wallace (26) is lifted into the air by offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh. — Penn State Nittany Lions running back Cam Wallace (26) is lifted into the air by offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh (68) after scoring a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Before Wallace’s breakout game, Penn State was searching for an identity in its run game. The rushing attack was going nowhere in Big Ten play, averaging 2.5 yards per carry in conference games entering last weekend.

Penn State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said he was “really proud” of Wallace and fellow running back Carson Hansen, who had 96 yards and a touchdown against the Boilermakers.

“[I’ve] really challenged those guys for a long time, the whole running back room, to be able to have somebody go and draw a line in the sand and say that, ‘I'm going to be the guy, or we're going to be the guy,’” Mouser said. “Those guys did a great job over the bye week of doing that, and leave no doubt.”

Wallace said that he was more consistent during bye-week practices, which he believes led to the coaching staff trusting him more. His 22 carries were a career high and dominated the game. Fellow backs Quinton Martin Jr. and James Peoples didn’t receive any touches out of the backfield.

Campbell called Wallace the “shining star” of practice during the bye week. That led to Wallace becoming Penn State’s first 100-yard rusher in Big Ten play this season. The Nittany Lions rushed for 269 total yards, their highest total of the Big Ten schedule.

It seems as though Wallace and Hansen will be getting the bulk of Penn State’s carries until further notice.

“I was proud of just the overall attitude and effort that those guys played with,” Mouser said. “Like Cam, when it wasn't perfect, was running to the level that I see our running backs having to play at, just from a physicality and attitude and an effort standpoint.”

Penn State visits Washington for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

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