Penn State Football: 10 Things to Know About Kirk Campbell, the Nittany Lions’ New Interim QB Coach

Kirk Campbell has ascended to Penn State’s interim quarterbacks coach position, following the departure of Ricky Rahne, the Nittany Lions’ quarterback coach and offensive coordinator now at Old Dominion. 

Second-year tight end coach Tyler Bowen, the former offensive coordinator at Fordham, will call the plays in the Cotton Bowl.

An offensive analyst at Penn State since 2017, Campbell is accustomed to the practice field. He spent eight years as an assistant coach before coming to Happy Valley two-and-a-half years ago with his wife, Lauren, who is head of PSU football’s social media efforts.

Here are 10 things to know about Campbell, whose stint as QB coach is likely temporary, until head coach James Franklin hires a fulltime quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, almost certainly after the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, December 28:

1.  He’s a “Pennsylvania boy.” Campbell is a native of suburban Pittsburgh. He was a wide receiver, safety and punt returner for West Allegheny High School when it won a PA state title.

2. He played football collegiately at Mercyhurst in Erie, and was a two-year starter at wide receiver, graduating in 2008 with a degree in communications.

3. His wife Lauren is Director of Social Media & Creative for Penn State Football — @PennStateFball — and an alum of West Virginia University. She is expecting a baby in March; watch Kirk’s “gender reveal” punt as the pinned Tweet on her Twitter account: @Schiefelbein1.

4. Follow him on Twitter at @KirkCampbellPSU.

5. He was a non-coaching analyst for Franklin. Campbell came to Penn State in March 2017 as an offensive analyst and analytics coordinator.

6. His first coaching job was as the wide receivers coach at tiny Tiffin University (enrollment: 2,189) in Ohio, where he coached two all-conference wide receivers in Obadiah Dykes and Marcus Beaurem.

7. Campbell coached two seasons at West Virginia Wesleyan — the team went 2-9 in 2009 and 9-2 in 2010.

8. Campbell was the offensive coordinator at Alderson Broaddus from 2012 to 2016. A Division II school in Philippi, West Virginia, AB is located about 40 miles south of Morgantown. Under Campbell’s direction as O-coordinator, assistant head coach and the quarterbacks coach, the Battlers’ offense averaged 34 points per game on their way to a 9-2 record in 2016.

9. Campbell was AB’s head coach, but never coached a game in that role. When Dennis Creehan resigned as head coach of Alderson Broaddus in late November 2016, Campbell was named AB’s head coach. He was in that position until the spring of 2017, when he joined Penn State.

10. Campbell will be in the coaches booth high above the field in AT&T Stadium on game day, when Penn State faces Memphis in the Cotton Bowl. So will Bowen. RB coach Ju’Juan Seider, WR coach Gerad Parker and OL coach Matt Limegrover will be on the sidelines.