For Matt Campbell, Actions Speak Louder Than Words on Day One of Penn State’s Summer Camp

Watching Matt Campbell on Wednesday at Penn State’s first official practice of preseason training camp, it seemed like just another day at the office for the Nittany Lions’ still-new head football coach.

Wednesday afternoon under the hot summer sun was Day 243 of the Campbell Era at the Lasch outdoor practice fields, as local media were permitted to watch nearly all of the Nittany Lions’ Day One drills, from soup to nuts.

Campbell wasn’t ho-hum, but it sure looked like he’s been there, done that. This was his 15th First Day as a college football head coach — four at Toledo (2012-15) and 10 at Iowa State (2016-25). And now, one at Penn State.

He’s also had nine First Days as an assistant, five as a college player (one at Pitt, four at Mount Union) and at least three at Perry High School in Massillon, Ohio. All told, that’s a minimum of 32 opening days of summer camp. A lot, when you’re only 46 years old.

So, if Campbell seemed unfazed by being The Big Boss at Dear Old State in 86-degree heat, that’s exactly right. You could hardly see him break a sweat, despite a long-sleeved T-shirt and a short-sleeved shell. All Adidas branded, of course.

He didn’t screech at his players, a la his most famous predecessor. Or seemingly play for the media cameras, a la his most recent predecessor. He has big-time college football practice down Matt, sans any fanfare.

Instead, the skinny-calved former college defensive lineman — that had to be 25 years and 25 more pounds ago — quietly and efficiently made his way from position group to position group to a passing drill where the offense was trying to beat the clock.

In most cases, he let the position coaches and coordinators run the show. Occasionally, he would pull a player aside and do some quiet coaching. Often, Campbell let his hands do the talking — pointing, chopping, creating circles to show the clock was running.

One teachable moment stood out. During a 6-on-7 passing drill, Campbell saw something from the offense he didn’t care for and stepped in. He walked softly to the line.

“Hey, Coach Clanton,” Campbell said to O-Line coach Ryan Clanton, “there’s a great question here. Everybody back on the line.”

The players bounced back to the line of scrimmage toot sweet. Their head coach was not about to blow his own horn. Not his style, and they knew it.

He re-positioned a lineman, making an adjustment and doing some hands-on coaching on the fly. “One more time,” Campbell told the group. He showed the O-line, but wasn’t showy and he didn’t show them up. “Here we go. Watch this.”

And his group of transplanted Cyclones, Penn State stayers and myriad other transfers ran it again. Better, not bitter.

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It is only 31 days until Campbell’s first game, in Beaver Stadium on Sept. 5 in a Stripe-Out announced by Penn State on Wednesday. And 52 days until his first Big Ten Conference game, for Homecoming vs. Wisconsin. And just 115 days until regular season-game No. 12 on Nov. 28 at Maryland.

Campbell, who brisk-walked from group to group, also spent a bit of time on the sideline, chatting up an older practice guest. Reminded me of the John Wooden line, “Be quick, but don’t hurry.”

That would seem to be Campbell’s mantra. This is a guy who spent a decade in Ames, Iowa, when everyone from the Detroit Lions to the USC Trojans came calling. At age 29, he was the second-youngest coordinator in all of the FBS. At age 32, when became head coach at Toledo after Tim Beckman — yes, Penn State fans, that Tim Beckman — left for Illinois, Campbell was the youngest head coach in all of the FBS. By three years.

Campbell and his staff went to work like mad men to build a roster after he was hired by Penn State AD Pat Kraft. But at the same time, Campbell — methodically yet quickly — also worked to build a foundation and a culture.

At practice on Wednesday, Campbell purposely went to each offensive and defensive group. Often, he stood in the back, watching drills and frequently checking his practice schedule. However, that was not the case when he went to where Clanton had the offensive line working at a chute in the corner, practicing combo blocks with an emphasis on the need to stay low. TBH, not the excitement of seeing Rocco Becht toss some deep outs.

There, though, was Campbell nirvana. He crouched low off to the side, mere inches from where two linemen were staying low and taking out one defender holding a blocking pad. 

Campbell, a former D-lineman who coached the offensive line as an assistant at both his alma mater Mount Union and Bowling Green, didn’t shout. But he sure ate it up. And, when necessary, he said a few quick words to one of the blockers. And at no point, did it seem like it was about the head coach.

He stayed there in a squat for a good, long time. In the trenches. On Day One, there may not have been a better metaphor for how Matthew Allen Campbell is approaching his time in Happy Valley.