Penn State's Secret Weapon in 2026 Might Be its Experience

The Nittany Lions rank as one of the most veteran teams in the Big Ten.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht throws a pass during the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

As Penn State wrapped spring drills in April, coach Matt Campbell forewarned of what he called the coming "storm." It's a common refrain among coaches who want to test their players' ability to handle adversity. Here's how Campbell described it.

"Are we as close-knit, tight-knit of a football team that, when the tough days come, we can fight through down 14, we can fight through adversity, a bad quarter, a bad half?" Campbell asked. "All of that stuff's coming, right?

"... Until we get in the fire and we have real adversity and we have to go through some really hard things, then we'll see where our leadership is. I think we've at least taken some really good first steps."

The Penn State football roster still has to learn how to blend its 40 transfers from 17 schools with the 52 players who returned from last year's roster. But the Nittany Lions will have an asset in doing that: experience.

CBS Sports released an illuminating and comprehensive look at experience levels across college football. The study, conducted with data from TruMedia, found that Penn State is one of the Big Ten's most experienced teams in terms of total snaps and starts.

In particular, Penn State ranks highly in snaps at two key offensive positions and in total defensive snaps, though many of those snaps were taken for other schools last season. Let's take a closer look what experience will mean for Penn State this season.

Penn State ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten in snaps returning

Penn State Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell answers questions from the media following the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The experience rankings consider total FBS roster snaps returning, where Penn State ranks 18th nationally. The Nittany Lions also rank third in the Big Ten behind UCLA and Indiana.

Now, experience means different things to different teams. UCLA might not necessarily benefit from returning more than 32,000 snaps from a team that went 3-9 (albeit with a win over Penn State). But Indiana, which ranks eighth nationally, should be thrilled to return 30,000 snaps from a national champion.

For Penn State, those 27,562 returning snaps are valuable. They mean that Campbell isn't starting from scratch, by design. Campell recruited his former Iowa State roster hard, bringing in 24 transfers and valuing that many of them have played a lot of college football.

Thirty-six of Penn State's 107 players are in at least their fourth season of college football. One, former UCLA defensive tackle Siale Taupaki, will play his eighth. Many are projected starters like quarterback Rocco Becht, receiver Chase Sowell, cornerbacks Audavion Collins and Zion Tracy, offensive linemen Anthony Donkoh and Trevor Buhr and linebackers Caleb Bacon and Tony Rojas.

Penn State also ranks 10th nationally in returning starts with 400. Becht is the most experienced quarterback in college football, with 39 career starts and 2,509 snaps. More importantly, he leads all returning FBS quarterbacks with 26 wins.

Where Penn State's experience matters most

Penn State Nittany Lions tight ends Ben Brahmer (left) and Andrew Rappleyea pose for photos during an autograph signing at Beaver Stadium. | Mark Wogenrich | Penn State On SI

According to CBS Sports, Penn State has the most experienced tight ends room in the country with more than 3,100 combined snaps. Iowa State transfer Ben Brahmer headlines the group, and could be one of the nation's top tight ends this season, with returning Nittany Lion Andrew Rappleyea.

Though Rappleyea missed spring drills with an injury, he's back after becoming a staple in Penn State's offense last season.

Penn State also is seasoned at linebacker, where the group ranks seventh nationally in total snaps. Bacon, Kooper Ebel and Cael Brezina formed Iowa State's rotation last year, and Rojas was among Penn State's snap-count leaders through four games before tearing an ACL. He expects to return "better" this season.

Another key position of experience and depth is cornerback, where the Nittany Lions rank 10th in returning snaps. And all those players are back. Audavion Collins is a fifth-year senior, projected starter Daryus Dixson played significantly last year and nickel Zion Tracy might lead the Nittany Lions in snaps this year.

Where Penn State's experience lags

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks on from behind the line of scrimmage during the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State's quarterbacks rank sixth in returning snaps, but that's a top-heavy number. The group behind Becht has played just 29 FBS snaps, all by redshirt freshman Alex Manske, who did not practice this past spring.

Connor Barry brought a deep well of starting experience to Penn State, but all his snaps were at Division III Christopher Newport. As a result, quarterback is Penn State's most compelling, and perhaps most tenuous, position this spring.

The offensive line, which ranks 71st, is another concern. Penn State likely will start redshirt freshman Mylachi Goodman at left tackle. He will play his first college snap Sept. 5 against Marshall. Anthony Donkoh is a veteran, having started the past two seasons at tackle and guard, but missed spring drills.

Campbell built an experienced roster in his first season at Penn State on purpose. And it should help the Nittany Lions win games. But how those veterans come together this season will matter more than how many snaps they played in the past.

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