Leaked Penn State Football Audio Showed Team's 'Selfishness,' Player Says

Nittany Lions safety King Mack discussed the ramifications of the audio leak and new coach Matt Campbell's plan for "changing the culture."

Penn State Nittany Lions players sing their alma mater following a win over the Villanova Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Before hiring Matt Campbell as Penn State's football coach, Athletic Director Pat Kraft met with a group of about 10 players in private. Someone leaked the raw and pointed audio of that meeting to a YouTube site, which became a distraction to Penn State's search and prompted Kraft to apologize.

But a player who participated in that meeting said the decision to make the audio public revealed a larger issue about Penn State's 2025 team, which lost six straight games and went through a public coaching change. It's something Campbell, in his first two weeks on campus, has vowed to correct.

"That shows the lack of leadership and accountability [on the team]," Penn State safety King Mack said. "... Anything could have been said in that meeting that could have jeopardized anyone's future or career. I feel like that's part of the selfishness and the lack of leadership around the team that we have to fix."

A group of Penn State players met with the media Wednesday to discuss the Dec. 27 Pinstripe Bowl, though Campbell's start with the program was a primary topic. In his first meeting with players, Campbell made his plan for the program clear, which Mack referred to as "changing the culture."

"He's very honest, he's straightforward," Mack said of Campbell. "He sees where we went wrong this year, and his job is to get it fixed as soon as possible and to use all the seniors as one big group to help us fix all those issues as well. Coach Matt Campbell plans on changing the culture."

Mack, a junior who began his career at Penn State in 2023 and played at Alabama in 2024, spoke openly about what he felt troubled the Nittany Lions this season. Mack cited that lack of leadership and a lack of "buy-in" among players.

"Not having all 100 people locked in and focused on one thing at one time, it’s hard to be successful when people on your ship aren’t all on one mission," Mack said. "The fact that [Campbell has] seen that, he said it's his job to fix that."

'It shocked me'

Penn State Nittany Lions safety King Mack makes an interception in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Mack cited the leaked audio from that private meeting with Kraft, which happened before Penn State played Rutgers in its final regular-season game, as an example of what went wrong this season. Mack was among the players who asked to meet with Kraft to discuss the coaching search, during which many Nittany Lions lobbied for Terry Smith to be promoted from interim head coach.

The audio, leaked to a YouTube channel, includes comments about former Penn State coach James Franklin, current Penn State players and other Big Ten players and teams that usually remain private. Kraft called the meeting an "open and honest discussion" with players and said the audio's Dec. 4 leak made that time "challenging for me."

Penn State announced Campbell's hiring the next day, after players found out that the meeting audio had been leaked. Mack said his parents told him about the audio's public existence.

"A meeting like that should have never been broadcast, honestly," Mack said. "It shocked me."

Mack did not say whether Campbell addressed the audio leak but did expand on what he called Campbell's "plans on changing the culture."

"We had a team meeting, and he made it very clear: 'If you don’t want to be here, the door is open. We don’t want anyone here who doesn’t want to be here,'" Mack said.

"… Honestly, I feel bad for all the [young players] because they have to grow up really fast. This could probably be hard for them, but I feel like coach Matt Campbell, he has experience. He's very calm about this whole thing, he's very confident about his plan and mission here. He said he wanted to take this job."

Getting to know Matt Campbell

Penn State Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell answers questions from the media during a press conference at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Receiver Trebor Pena and linebacker Dom DeLuca, two seniors who will play their final college games in the Pinstripe Bowl, said that Campbell made a point to meet with players who are out of eligibility. The new coach wanted to gauge their perspectives on the program's pulse in 2025.

"He was just trying to get to know me, and I broke down my story to him and learned a little bit about him too," said Pena, who transferred to Penn State from Syracuse. "He was asking me things that I like, things I didn't like, how we can grow and things that we do well.

"He was just trying to get a sense of what older guys feel. I'm a new guy. I've only been here since May, so I had a different perspective on Penn State than probably some of the guys who have been here for a lot of years. I feel like he was trying to get a lot of different perspectives and see where to take the program."

Added DeLuca, who also met with Campbell, "He seems like a great guy. I'm excited to see what he does here for Penn State and the program."

Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who made several recruiting trips to Iowa State, said he has met with Campbell and his offensive staff. Grunkemeyer said he developed a good feel for Campbell's approach during the recruiting process.

"I've always had a really good impression of him," Grunkemeyer said. "I know the culture that he built at Iowa State and I really liked that from recruiting and I think it will carry over really well here. ... I like how he handles the program and I like what he's about as a coach and a person."

Penn State plays Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27 at Yankee Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on ABC.

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