Penn State Football Week 2 Mailbag: Why Matt Campbell Made News With Shoelaces

Why did Penn State coach bring back "Success With Honor" and white shoelaces? What does Penn State's practice schedule look like during the week? And how do players earn an opportunity to wear the uniform on Saturdays?

As Penn State turns to Temple in Week 2, we turn to the mailbag for our weekly Q&A. Here goes.

Question: Why did Penn State hang a "Success With Honor" banner in the Beaver Stadium tunnel, and why is Matt Campbell wearing white shoelaces?

A "Success With Honor" banner greeted Penn State players in the Beaver Stadium tunnel Saturday. Matt Campbell explained why he chose that message.
🎥Penn State Athletics pic.twitter.com/xmyHMMpXbC
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) September 8, 2026

Campbell does everything deliberately, and as part of his coaching philosophy specific to Penn State, he has prioiritized recognizing the program's history daily. Campbell invited more than 400 lettermen to watch spring practice and meet the team. He invited about 200 lettermen to the opener vs. Marshall.

And then on gameday, Campbell joined his team running through the Beaver Stadium tunnel beneath a "Success With Honor" banner that replaced the "1-0" of last season. Campbell's decision tied directly to those lettermen who played for Joe Paterno, who introduced that as Penn State football's mission statement.

"I just felt like I'm in absolute alliance with that value," Campbell said. "I think it means exactly what it should mean here at Penn State. I thought that was the right thing for our football team to continue to honor and continue to carry forward."

As for the footwear, Campbell wore a pair of black adidas shoes with white laces that many Penn State fans recognized. It clearly an homage to Paterno's black-and-white shoes, a pair of which are on display in the Paterno Family Football Experience Room at Beaver Stadium.

"Obviously I know what the history of this place means and what those white laces mean," Campbell said on the Penn State Coaches Show. "So I felt like [it was ] just the opportunity to continue to honor the history and the excellence in our program from every angle. As you’ve heard me [say] a lot, the history of this program means a great deal to all of us, and representing it the right ways means a great deal to all of us as well."

The sneakers Matt Campbell was wearing on Saturday are the adidas S2G 26 Leather Spikeless Golf Shoes with white laces. https://t.co/tZtP2BRc5n

Photo via @GoPSUSports pic.twitter.com/yGB8eRI30P
— Darian Somers (@StuffSomersSays) September 9, 2026

Question: How is Penn State's practice schedule different from last year?

Penn State Nittany Lions football head coach Matt Campbell jogs at the start of a practice session inside Holuba Hall. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Campbell's main change was importing his morning practice schedule from Iowa State. The former Cyclones were used to it, and the returning Nittany Lions grew to appreciate its value (done by 11 a.m.) during spring drills.

After about a week of afternoon sessions to start training camp, Penn State returned to morning practice and will continue that schedule for the season. The Nittany Lions have Monday off and concentrate their practices from Tuesday-Thursday, with a Friday walkthrough for home and road games.

In season, Campbell prefers the early practice times for another reason.

"The nice thing I like about the morning practice schedule is, by the time you're done Thursday physically, your priority is filling the tank to be your best by game time," he said. "That's one of the real bonuses of a Thursday practice and practicing early in the morning."

Question: Who gets to dress for gamedays?

Penn State Nittany Lions players sing their alma mater following the game against the Marshall Thundering Herd. — Penn State Nittany Lions players sing their alma mater following the game against the Marshall Thundering Herd at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While many coaches allow their entire roster (save for injured players) to wear uniforms on gamedays, Campbell takes a different approach. Penn State did not dress a full roster for the opener against Marshall.

Instead, Penn State's sldeline featured a number of players besides those injured who were not in uniform. For Campbell, the uniform is something to be earned, even for home games.

"We’re not into dressing everybody," Campbell said. "You’ve got to earn the right to dress and you've got to earn the right to to [play]. From our end of it, part of earning it is the ability to get yourself on the travel squad, number one, and number two, if you are, did you prove your right to play for our football team?

"That's one of the real bonuses we have right now going on in our program. There is a lot of depth, and it doesn’t matter really who you are. You’ve got to come to practice every day and earn the right to start and earn the right to play in the game on Saturday."

Question: Can Rocco Becht keep up that pace?

Koby Howard gets @PennStateFball on the board for the first time this season 👏

Watch on FS1 pic.twitter.com/1OC6waJvNE
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 5, 2026

Becht looked every bit the part of a quarterback making his 40th start last week against Marshall. He was efficent, accurate, pocket savvy and even a bit improvisational.

His first touchdown pass, the 42-yarder to Koby Howard, began with a play design to running back James Peoples, who tripped. So Becht nurtured his pocket (with a huge blitz pickup from tight end Andrew Rappleyea) and found Howard freelancing downfield. The awareness was something you'd expect from a fourth-year starter.

Becht finished the game with a 72.2 percent completion rate, his 11th career game over 70 percent, and a QB rating of 272, the second-highest of his career. Only Indiana's Josh Hoover (285.3) had a higher rating in Week 1. Becht also threw four touchdown passes for the first time in his career.

Becht is going to fight the low-ceiling judgment this season based on his size, his 2025 injuries and his career 60.7 completion rate at Iowa State. But Becht is a different quarterback this season and should run that efficiency through the non-conference schedule and into Penn State's Big Ten opener against Wisconsin.

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