In the NIL era, honeymoons for new college football coaches can be brief, especially for those who take over blue-blood programs.
And so it goes for Matt Campbell in his first year at No. 18 Penn State, where he is expected to win immediately after bringing 24 players from Iowa State.
The first test for Campbell and the Nittany Lions comes against Marshall, Saturday afternoon in University Park, Pa.
“Week 1 games, the first game of the season, are nerve-wracking for any coach in America,” said Campbell, who replaced James Franklin after Penn State had an uncharacteristic 7-6 season, which included six straight defeats.
Helping calm Campbell’s nerves will be the winningest active quarterback in Division I entering this season, Rocco Becht, who as a three-year starter at Iowa State went 26-13 and threw 64 touchdown passes.
Last year, Becht led Iowa State to a 5-0 start and a No. 14 ranking before he suffered a labrum tear in a loss at Cincinnati, which triggered a four-game losing streak.
Becht, who underwent surgery to his left (non-throwing) shoulder in December, declared himself “100 percent” on Tuesday.
Another Iowa State import, Alex Manske, also is expected to get some snaps at quarterback on Saturday.
“What makes great quarterbacks special is when they know who they are and they’re confident in who they are, rather than trying to be someone else,” Campbell said of Becht, who was often compared at Iowa State to his predecessor Brock Purdy, now the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers.
Other offensive threats Campbell brought with him include running back Carson Hansen, who rushed for 1,704 yards and 19 touchdowns the last two seasons, and tight end Ben Brahmer, who caught 37 passes for 446 yards and six touchdowns in 2025.
Also making the move east were Iowa State’s top two wideouts, Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell, who combined for 62 receptions for 1,026 yards and seven touchdowns.
They join holdover wideout Koby Howard, who has been one of the MVPs of camp, Campbell said on Tuesday.
The Nittany Lions also have help from Iowa State on defense in linebacker Kooper Ebel and safeties Jeremiah Cooper and Marcus Neal Jr.
They join returning linebacker Tony Rojas and cornerbacks Daryus Dixson and Audavion Collins, who will play behind a line that has more size than a year ago.
Marshall, which slumped to 5-7 last season for its worst record since 2016 (3-9), enters its second year under coach Tony Gibson.
Also back leading the Thundering Herd’s spread offense is Sun Belt Conference preseason offensive player of the year Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, who threw for 2,043 yards and tacked on another 660 yards rushing last season.
Del Rio-Wilson will throw to a pair of familiar targets who also were named to the preseason conference first team: tight end Toby Payne and wideout Adrian Norton.
In addition to Del-Rio Wilson, Gibson expects to find snaps at quarterback for West Virginia transfer Khalil Wilkins on Saturday.
“He’s a dynamic runner. He’s tough. He throws the deep ball really well, has a strong arm,” Gibson said. “We’re gonna use him a lot, in a lot of different ways. Hopefully we will get him in early in the game and try to change things up.”
–Field Level Media
