What I'm Watching Closely During Penn State Fall Camp — and Why You Should Too

The Nittany Lions begin the countdown to their Sept. 5 opener against Marshall.

The Penn State Nittany Lions huddle during Day 1 of training camp on the practice fields outside the Lasch Football Building. | Will Horstman | Penn State on SI

Matt Campbell's first training camp is underway at Penn State, officially marking the end of the head coach's introductory period as the Nittany Lions' head coach. Campbell has checked off the roster and staff rebuild, the evaluation period at Penn State and the candid offseason interview sessions. Now it's time to solidify the depth chart.

Campbell and his staff have about a month from Day 1 of training camp to the Sept. 5 opener against Marshall at Beaver Stadium. They'll go through successes and failures (don't fret every dropped pass or missed assignment) to get ready for the Thundering Herd.

We'll be watching, and chronocling, those moments throughout camp but also looking at larger topics and trends regarding this fascinating new edition of the Nittany Lions. So here's what we're watching, and why you should too.

Just how physical will training camp be?

WATCH: 60 seconds of Matt Campbell’s first day of summer camp as Head Coach of Penn State Football pic.twitter.com/Aznl2biqbU

— Mike Poorman (@PSUPoorman) August 5, 2026

Campbell has changed a lot regarding Penn State's practice approach, notably with his plan to practice in the morning rather than in the afternoon (after a few later sessions to start camp). Campbell also prefers a physical training camp over mitigating contact sessions. In fact, he called it a "non-negotiable."

"What makes fall camp really challenging, and it should be and it needs to be, is you are doing everything in your power to build the contact collision equity to prepare your football team for the start of the season," Campbell said. "How you tackle, how you handle contact collision, how you bounce back from that, there's a lot of things going on early in full camp.

"You're competing for starting spots. You're competing to become the best team you can be. I think there is heavy challenge to that, and I think what happens is, the repetitive days of contact collision and the physicality that brings with it, you don't ever get that in any other part of the season."

That's specifically a change over last season, when James Franklin limited contact, particularly with his veteran players, to prepare for what they hoped would be a 16-game season. For Franklin, the strategy backfired.

How quickly will D'Anton Lynn's defense come together?

Penn State LB Tony Rojas details how defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn approaches teaching, installation and play-calling differently than his past coordinators. pic.twitter.com/2GzNnPomqB

— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) July 29, 2026

Tony Rojas said he feels like a brand new linebacker, primarily because he's healthy after his 2025 ACL tear. But it also has something to do with defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn.

Rojas, who is on his fourth defensive coordinator, sounds most comfortable with Lynn, the former Penn State defensive back who coached the last two years at USC. Lynn spent the spring patiently installing his defense, which is different than Jim Knowles', and identifying how to fit with his players rather than vice versa.

"He’s just doing a great job being a leader himself, even coming back to us and asking for advice so he can get better as a coach," Rojas said. "At the end of the day, he wants to call the plays that we’re best at, not that he likes. And I think that’s a big change for us, because the last couple years, and even last year, it was kind of just call plays that the coach wanted rather than what us players are best at. And I think that will be a big plus for us this year.”

Lynn has a big job this August, as Penn State's defense could have as many as eight new starters. He also doesn't want to be known primarily as the Penn State letterman coming home. Lynn will be a head coach soon; this is probably his last stop as a college coordinator. Training camp is a critical time for him to build a win-now defense from a a big collection of transfer parts.

Is Matt Campbell right about the receivers?

Rocco Becht connecting with fellow Iowa State transfer Chase Sowell pic.twitter.com/rWcBBipf8S

— Joel Haas (@Joel_Haas1) August 5, 2026

We warned earlier not to labor over practice play-by-play, particularly regarding the wide receivers. However, Koby Howard appeared to have a good opening day, underscoring why quarterback Rocco Becht is pointed toward helping the sophomore become a 1,000-yard receiver.

However, wide receiver is the position that will garner outsized attention during camp, which Campbell understands. He might not have the PTSD of a Penn State fan who watched Drew Allar throw to zero drafted receivers, but Campbell recognizes it.

So in addition to Howard, some of the players who need productive camps are receivers Chase Sowell, Brett Eskildsen, Zay Robinson and freshman Amarion Jackson. Only Howard was on the team last year, and even he has called this season a fresh start. Campbell has to be correct that this group is different.

"Some of the players that have played quality snaps have proven already to be really good players," Campbell said. "They need to take the next step to be great."

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