Penn State fired James Franklin after week six and hired Matt Campbell. Campbell brought 24 former Iowa State players with him, along with Rocco Becht—his fourth-year quarterback—and hired D'Anton Lynn away from USC to run the defense. Justin Lustig returns on special teams and Terry Smith is back with the corners.

 

Campbell spent a decade turning Iowa State from the worst job in the Big 12 into a consistent winner. He did it without ever out-recruiting anybody.

 

This is Campbell laying out the framework itself—offense, defense, special teams, and the ten steps he uses to get a roster to its ceiling. It is the closest thing to a written explanation of what Penn State just bought.

What "Trust the Process" Actually Means When You Write It Down

Every program says it develops players. Campbell's distinction is that he defined what development means before the season starts, in specific enough terms that a player can tell you where he stands. A slogan you can't measure is decoration.

 

What transfers to a high school program:

• Name the handful of things you'll be great at. Not fifteen. Campbell's teams were built to win a specific way, and everything that didn't serve it got cut from the practice plan.

• Development is a system, not a weight room. The teams that beat more talented opponents are the ones where a two-star junior gets measurably better between March and August because someone planned it.

• Retention is the whole ballgame. Twenty-four players followed him across the country. Whatever you think of the roster mechanics, that number is the actual proof of concept—players don't follow a system, they follow a coach who developed them.

• The standard survives the personnel. Campbell's best Iowa State teams looked nothing alike on paper and identical on tape.

If you coach somewhere that will never win a recruiting battle, this is the clinic to watch twice.

Nittany Lions 2026 Outlook

Becht in his fourth year as a starter running an offense he already knows, a defense handed to one of the best young coordinators in the country, and a head coach who has never had this level of resource. Campbell built a winner at Iowa State with a fraction of this.