Where Matt Campbell Sees Parallels Between Penn State and Indiana

The Nittany Lions coach discusses how he measures success in roster-building.

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

Could Penn State follow the Indiana model to success under Matt Campbell? The Nittany Lions coach approached that subject in a recent interview with On3’s Andy Staples that explored multiple topics surrounding the Nittany Lions.

There was plenty to unpack from Campbell’s interview, notably the comparisons he made between what Curt Cignetti accomplished in two seasons at Indiana and what he’s building at Penn State. Are those parallels legitimate? Here’s what we learned from Campbell’s interview.

Could Penn State follow the Indiana model?

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

Campbell said that Cignetti and Indiana essentially laid the blueprint a year ago when they won the first national championship in school history. The Penn State coach reiterated that “team was the emphasis on their success” for Indiana when building a roster. 

"College football just got taught a great lesson a year ago," Campbell said. "When you watch what coach Cignetti did with that Indiana team, team was the emphasis of their success."

Blueprints can be notoriously difficult to replicate. Penn State supposedly had the model last year, returning an experienced roster from a playoff team ready to take the next step. Which didn't work.

But Campbell said that the No. 1 issue in college football today is whether a team can be built to withstand the emotional, mental and physical challenges of a season. He emphasized the word “team” multiple times regarding the Big Ten's recent national titles. “Yes, there are great players that make up great teams, but great teams are still what wins games on Saturdays,” Campbell said.

“That’s always what I've enjoyed more than anything, is building a great team, a collective team that's bigger than just yourself, and it's about the collective whole, and I still really appreciate that part of the journey,” he added. 

Campbell has done that throughout his career, which grew more difficult in the age of NIL. Considering how money steers the game, Campbell seems to want to remind his players that it isn’t just about one person.

“When you look at even the last couple national championship teams, and obviously they've come from this conference, so there's easily identified replication of team and success,” Campbell said. “Those teams [Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State] had great players, but ultimately they were great teams. They were resilient, they were tough when adversity struck [and] they had the ability to be unified through it.”

Penn State has the right quarterback in Rocco Becht

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

Campbell brought 24 players from Ames to Happy Valley through the transfer portal, which is an incredibly rare feat. Among those who transferred is quarterback Rocco Becht, arguably the most impactful addition of the bunch. 

Campbell talked strongly about Becht during the interview, saying that he believes the head coach-quarterback relationship is “critical to the success of a football team,” and that coaching Becht has been “one of the great joys” of his career. 

Becht, coming off shoulder surgery, is the most experienced quarterback in college football with an FBS-best 26 wins. While he had a down year to his standards in 2025, with career lows in passing yards (2,584) and passing touchdowns (16), there’s no doubt that he is the best quarterback to lead this team. 

Teammates and coaches consistently praise his leadership, which is a major part of the position in itself. But he’s very talented as well. Becht ranked as the eighth-best quarterback in the 247Sports transfer portal positional rankings and has eclipsed 3,000 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in two of his three seasons as a starter. 

“His leadership, his consistency, his grit, his toughness, and his ability to lead the football program the way that you would hope any selfless leader would [is special],” Campbell said. “...  [To] be a unifier, be selfless, have the ability to bring others with you, I think Rocco did an incredible job of that, and for him to want to be here at Penn State, to want to be a part of this journey, you were just really grateful and humbled by his want to be that and want to do that.”

“And I think he's already done an incredible job of kind of bringing those selfless work ethic trips here and being a great unifier from the young men that stayed in this program from Penn State, and in kind of unifying all the young men that came on our football team in January,” Campbell added. “I think Rocco's been a great anchor for all of it.”

Campbell really loves his tight ends

Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Andrew Rappleyea scores on a touchdown reception against the Clemson Tigers during the 2025 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Campbell joked that if he could get tight end Benjamin Brahmer to carry the football at tailback, he might try to sneak five tight ends on the field at once. Clearly, Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser will make tight end a major part of their scheme. And that should be the case, given the talent at the position with Brahmer, Andrew Rappleyea, Gabe Burkle and Cooper Alexander. 

It wouldn’t be a shock if the Nittany Lions’ tight end unit finishes as one of the most productive in college football. Brahmer was the top-ranked tight end in the transfer portal. Rappleyea made significant strides last year as a pass-catcher. And Burkle had a very productive 26-reception, 302-yard campaign in 2025 through nine games before sustaining a season-ending injury. 

And that doesn’t include Alexander, a fourth-string tight end who could make a strong run-blocking impact for Penn State next season. The Nittany Lions seem poised to deploy their tight ends in various ways in 2026.

“I think you see it in the NFL, the Rams, and so many teams like that are starting to live in that same kind of lifestyle there,” Campbell said. “When you have those athletic tight ends that can line up at receiver, but they can also block a D gap and an E gap, at times things become, you know, a real challenge for sometimes defenses to be able to defend the football.”

An '"overwhelming feeling"

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

Campbell was still emotional about leaving Iowa State weeks after, to the point that he broke down in a meeting with some former Cyclones players and their families during a transfer meeting at Penn State.  

Campbell called it an “overwhelming feeling” and said he felt a “deep-seated responsibility to make sure those young men were taken care of” no matter where they played. He also felt overwhelmed by the faith that the players showed in him.

"I don't know if I would ever imagine that that was what this journey was going to look like, but to be able to do that with so many of our players has been a reward," Campbell said. "And I've been gratedul to have them a part of this journey with us, for sure."

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