Matt Campbell Details His Approach to Recruiting and the Portal at Penn State

Campbell will have access to significantly greater NIL funding with the Nittany Lions than he did at Iowa State.

Penn State Nittany Lions football coach Matt Campbell, left, shakes hands with Athletic Director Pat Kraft during a press conference at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

National Signing Day happened five days before Matt Campbell was introduced as Penn State’s 17th head football coach, and only two players put pen to paper for the Nittany Lions’ 2026 recruiting class. That made one of Campbell’s first tasks to rebuild Penn State’s class and revamp its recruiting strategy.  

In his introductory press conference, Campbell gave a few clues as to what his approach might look like, particularly with more resources available to him at Penn State. Iowa State’s football budget was less than half of Penn State’s, according to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, and Campbell will get a budget boost at Penn State.

Matt Fortuna of The Inside Zone substack reported that Penn State will direct about $30 million in NIL funding to the football program. 

SOURCES: Penn State is committing roughly $30 million in NIL money and $17 million in staff pool (assistant coaches, support staff, etc.) to Matt Campbell. pic.twitter.com/CSw9JDIzD1

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) December 6, 2025

“The financial aspect, I think, is certainly unique,” Campbell said. “One of the great things that we have here is the sacrifice that [Athletic Director] Pat [Kraft] and his team have made to be competitive at the highest level to give yourself a chance to build the best team. Now, I think sometimes in college football we can get lost on the financial piece of it. Do I think it’s important? Absolutely. But I think the reality is that it cannot be priority No. 1.”

A boost in payroll

Penn State Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell poses for a photo during his introductory press conference at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

But the extra money certainly will help. At Iowa State, Campbell couldn’t rely on the transfer portal too much, as he didn’t have the resources. Campbell told a group of reporters after his introductory press conference that his Iowa State roster was the lowest-paid in Power 4 football the last two years.

“We had to create our own collective; nobody created that for us,” Campbell said. “We had to write our own contracts. So I think it prepared us for this moment."

Now that Campbell has the means to be more aggressive and target higher-rated players, Penn State might add more to its roster that way when the portal opens Jan. 2. 

“It’s great to have the money, but it’s using the money wisely,” Campbell said. “It’s using the resources correctly, building the right team and knowing what you’re trying to spend those things on and making sure it’s about the right things.”

Under former James Franklin, Penn State wasn’t reliant on the portal, but Kraft wanted the program’s next coach to evolve with college football. 

“Recruiting will always be a pillar here. We want someone who will attract elite talent, retain players in the NIL era, and make Penn State a destination,” Kraft said when the coaching search began. “This is also about the modern era of college football. Our next coach needs to be able to maximize elite-level resources, attack the transfer portal and develop at the highest level.”

Starting the recruiting process

A general view of the scoreboard at Beaver Stadium as Matt Campbell is announced as the Penn State Nittany Lions new head coach. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

From a recruiting standpoint, Campbell already flipped four players from Ames to Happy Valley. As his coaching staff continues to form, more commits are expected to join Penn State’s 2026 class. The 247Sports Composite lists these commits as 3-star prospects, but ratings have never concerned Campbell.

“The flash, the stars, that’s cool on signing day, but winning football games on Saturday is what we’re going to be about,” Campbell said. 

Developing players and relationships has always been a key focus and intention for Campbell, a big reason why his Iowa State players stayed and he was successful in Ames. Because Iowa State didn’t have a financial advantage, the relationships and commitment mattered.

“Our top-20 kids were getting drastically different numbers than what was going on with everybody else, and we just couldn’t [compete financially],” Campbell said. “But culture, relationships, belief that maybe, ‘Hey, I could be the next Brock Purdy, … Breece Hall, …Will McDonald,’ that gave us the chance to understand, ‘Hey, maybe I can make some real money for the rest of my life down the road.’ So that gave us a shot.”

Beyond the money Campbell has to work with at Penn State, he already sees a great opportunity in the Northeast to recruit. 

“You’re in the most fertile ground of the excellence of high school football in a six- to eight-hour radius,” Campbell said. “Everything will start with building high school football and continuing to do a great job in this state and our surrounding states. Nobody is going to attack more than us.”

As Penn State is preparing for the Pinstripe Bowl against Clemson, Campbell has been meeting with players on the current roster. 

“I’ve always said the greatest climb in life is the climb back,” Campbell said. “To watch these young men be on a three-game winning streak here at the end of this football season as so much adversity has hit them, it’s been inspiring. They get this unbelievable opportunity to go win four in a row at the end of the season for these great seniors, for themselves, and for the future of our program, to give us unbelievable momentum in 2026.”

So far, only tight end Joey Schlaffer and cornerback Elliot Washington II have said that they intend to enter the transfer portal when it opens. The list is likely to grow, however. More change is expected at Penn State as Campbell continues to build his first Nittany Lion roster “from the ground up.”

“I want young men that want to be here at Penn State and want to win championships at Penn State,” Campbell said. “It has to start there. Obviously with Pat, what he’s done here to give us a chance to be able to compete with everybody in college football, I’m really grateful for that.”

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