How Taylor Mouser Will Bring Flavors of the NFL to Penn State's Offense

More than a decade ago, Taylor Mouser was a recently graduated Division II defensive lineman, working at Little Caesars, making phone calls to head football coaches and hoping to jumpstart his coaching career.

No one answered — until Matt Campbell picked up the phone. Campbell, who was Toledo’s head coach at the time, offered Mouser a graduate assistant position in 2015. Eleven years later, Campbell and Mouser are still together, as Mouser joined Campbell at Penn State as offensive coordinator.

Mouser begins his third season as a coordinator with what Campbell called a "fearlessness" as a play-caller and an offense that carries flavors of the NFL. Mouser also has a bond with Campbell that goes beyond football.

“I'd still be a Little Caesars if it wasn't for Coach Campbell,” Mouser said recently. “... Obviously, it's awesome, because [Penn State] is incredible, and it's a school that you dream about when you're a small-school guy. I played at Division II, and you watch as a kid, Penn State football games and the history here, you know about it. Even the idea of coming and coaching at a place like this, it's so far-fetched, it doesn't even enter your mind when you know where I was before.”

Mouser’s scheme is inspired by the NFL

Iowa State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser talks to the media during a media availability at Stark Performance Center. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mouser described his scheme as a “spread-pro offense” that wants to “run the ball, create explosive plays in the pass game and on the ground.” He compared the offense to what the Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts run, which are schemes that highlight multiple personnel and tempos

Additionally, Mouser said he has been able to incorporate other “flavors” of the NFL, from the Philadelphia Eagles (Campbell was college teammates with Nick Sirianni) to the San Francisco 49ers, where former Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy is the starter.

Mouser said that Nate Scheelhaase, the Rams’ new offensive coordinator who worked at Iowa State, and Colts tight ends coach Tom Manning are two of his greatest influences. Mouser said that he and Scheelhaase are “always bouncing different ideas” off each other.

“[The Rams] got into 13 personnel a lot last year, which was awesome to see, and to be able to talk through some of that stuff [was great],” Mouser said. “But those are guys [Manning and Scheelhaase], we're always asking questions to and trying to ask for help. Coach Campbell went to the Patriots and hung out with [Mike] Vrabel, with his Ohio roots.

“So we're a very, very curious offensive staff. We're trying to watch as much tape as we can. Everybody on our staff, every offensive coach, has an NFL team we study, a college team that we study, and high school coaches that we love to talk to, because they're always on the front edge of stuff too.”

Mouser’s fellow coaches rave about him

Penn State Nittany Lions football coach Matt Campbell speaks during a press conference at Beaver Stadium. | Mark Wogenrich/Penn State on SI

Campbell said Mouser is one of the “up and coming bright minds in all of college football” who has a “fearlessness” about play-calling. Beyond that, Campbell called Mouser a staff leader.

“When you put the coordinator title to any of these coaches, I think you're expecting a gentleman and somebody that's got unbelievable leadership ability and the ability to align and unify a group,” Campbell said. “And Taylor has done a great job of that.”

Terry Smith, who resumed his role as Penn State’s associate head coach, spent time on the road recruiting with Mouser. Smith said Mouser has a “tremendous offensive mind” that even caught his eye during the NFL playoffs.

The Houston Texans have three Iowa State receivers on their roster, including a pair of 1,000-yard wideouts from the 2024 Cyclones in Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.

“He's got a vertical pass game,” Smith said of Mouser. “They utilize the tight end much like we have in the past, but their receivers are utilized a little bit more. My beloved Steelers got knocked out by the Texans [in the playoffs], and three of their guys play for the Texans. So that hit home hard, and I got a first-hand look at guys that have been produced from this system. So I'm looking forward to it. We all know, obviously the past few years, the [Penn State] receiver room has struggled, and hopefully that'll be fixed.”

Penn State quarterbacks coach Jake Waters spent several minutes recently talking about how “special” Mouser is as a coach. “You’ll never meet someone who met [Mouser] who doesn’t like him,” Waters said.

“He can kind of wear every hat,” Waters said. “He's extremely smart football-wise, extremely competitive. Wants to be the best, and then he cares about relationships a lot. … [Guys] are constantly up in our staff room talking to him, having great relationships with Mouser, and he is intentional about building that relationship. So when hard times come or we need to work on something to get better, they know he truly cares.”

A defensive lineman shifts to offense

Iowa State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser talks to media during the university’s football media availability. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Campbell named Mouser as his offensive coordinator at Iowa State in 2024. Mouser started as a graduate assistant at Toledo, worked as the assistant scouting director and a senior quality control staffer at Iowa State and became a full-time coach in 2021, when he took over the Cyclones’ tight ends room.

Surprisingly, Mouser has coached offense from a defensive background. He played defensive line for Division II Adams State from 2009-13, totaling a career-high 23 tackles (11 for loss), five sacks, one forced fumble and one pass defended in his senior season.

Funny enough, Mouser said that former teammates still can’t believe he coaches offense now.

“I think it just helped provide me with an identity of how I played when I was a player,” Mouser said. “When you're a D-lineman, there's a reckless abandon and just a chaotic piece of just being able to play that position. Coach Campbell played it. He knows. So I think when you do that, you’re able to bleed that through your career as you need to.”

“And it also helped me have a blank canvas going into my career where I could just learn a great system from great coaches with Coach Campbell at Toledo in a time when they were a really good offense,” Mouser said. “We had [running back] Kareem Hunt. We had [quarterback] Logan Woodside. You had these NFL players executing this offense at a high level where I could just learn and where I didn't have to forget my old formations and learn new formations. I could just learn these, and they're the same [formations] that we have now. So it allowed me to be curious and hungry without having to forget bad habits or forget old stuff. I could just start fresh.”

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Mouser’s scheme is inspired by the NFL

Mouser’s fellow coaches rave about him

A defensive lineman shifts to offense

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