With the hiring of running backs coach Savon Huggins on Thursday night, Matt Campbell slotted in the final piece of the 2026 coaching puzzle.
With all of Penn State’s coordinators in place, including only one returner, the new regime has begun in State College, ushering in an era of optimism for the future.
Here’s a look at the new coaching staff, and grades based on their resumes.
Head coach Matt Campbell: A-
While major names like Kalen DeBoer, Nick Saban, Curt Cignetti and Lincoln Riley were floated out during the coaching search, many were unrealistic options given their current situations.
Of the possible candidates, Campbell is an impressive get, considering he had already turned down numerous other head coaching opportunities to remain at Iowa State.
Campbell is responsible for the best stretch in Cyclone program history, setting a program-record with 11 wins in 2024, capped off by a bowl win over No. 15 Miami. Campbell also took Iowa State to its first New Year’s Six bowl appearance, a 34-17 win over a ranked Oregon squad in the 2021 Fiesta Bowl.
In addition, Campbell is the winningest coach in Iowa State history and is responsible for five eight-win seasons — a feat that only occurred eight times in the 123 years before Campbell’s arrival from Toledo.
As a bonus, Campbell has midwest ties as a player and coach and has family roots within the state of Pennsylvania.
Offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Taylor Mouser: B-
Mouser has worked under Campbell since 2015 when he was a graduate assistant at Toledo, following him to Iowa State where he earned the title of tight ends coach in 2021 and offensive coordinator in 2024. He’ll wear both hats with the Nittany Lions.
It’ll be hard for Mouser to live up to his predecessor Ty Howle when it comes to the development of tight ends, a role that will likely take a backseat to his offensive coordinator duties.
Howle sent Benton Strange, Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren to the NFL in three consecutive years, and all have earned starting roles. Warren also became Penn State’s first Mackey Award winner, given to the nation’s top tight end.
Mouser undoubtedly had a tougher task, as recruiting top-tier talent to Iowa State is more difficult than Penn State, but he’s still produced productive players. Mouser worked with Charlie Kolar in his final season before he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round. While he’s not a starter like Howle’s prodigies, he’s seen a fair share of playing time at the next level.
Since then, no Cyclone tight ends have been taken in the draft, though Benjamin Brahmer has a chance to break that streak — he transferred to Penn State this offseason and will compete for reps with Andrew Rappleyea.
Brahmer totaled 37 receptions for 446 yards last season and tied for the most receiving touchdowns by Big 12 tight ends with six. With a strong senior year in Happy Valley, Brahmer could hear his name called in the 2027 draft.
As an offensive coordinator, Mouser has led Iowa State to fairly mediocre rankings. The Cyclones were middle-of-the-pack in the Big 12 in points and yards per game across the last two seasons, with middling results in both the run and pass game.
Given the disadvantages of coaching at Iowa State, putting together a mid-tier offense in the Big 12 is still a solid result, but it’s not overly impressive.
Quarterbacks coach Jake Waters: B-
Waters is another younger coach at just 33 years old, and his coaching experience is limited. He spent the last two seasons as quarterbacks coach at Iowa State, working with starter Rocco Becht.
In 2024, when Iowa State finished 11-3, Becht had the third-most passing yards in the Big 12 (3,505) and 25 touchdowns to nine interceptions, though his completion percentage was under 60%.
In 2025, his production took a step back, totaling just 2,584 yards (albeit in two fewer games) with 16 touchdowns to nine interceptions, giving him just the No. 10 passer rating among Big 12 starters.
The sample size for Waters is limited, and while Becht is a well-known college quarterback, that’s more so because he’s started for three seasons than because of his talent — if his 2025 showing was better, he’d have likely declared for the draft.
On the other hand, Waters did help land a commitment from four-star class of 2025 recruit Alex Manske, who’s since transferred to Penn State, not an easy recruiting victory for the Cyclones.
Wide receivers coach Noah Pauley: A
Pauley is one of the better hires of the cycle, producing several NFL prospects in a limited time.
At North Dakota State, Pauley was the wide receivers coach over multiple seasons for Christian Watson, who was a second-round draft selection by the Green Bay Packers and is a current starter.
After joining Iowa State in 2023, he helped develop two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season — Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel — an impressive accomplishment.
Higgins was selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, while Noel was taken by the Texans one round later.
Making the feat more impressive, Higgins was unranked as a recruit out of high school and Noel was a three-star and the No. 124-ranked wide receiver in his class, per the 247Sports composite.
Running backs coach Savon Huggins: C
Huggins, a former Rutgers and Northern Iowa running back, spent the last five seasons at Boston College, serving as a recruiting coordinator in 2021 and running backs coach from 2022-25.
Huggins produced mixed results with the Eagles — they ranked dead last in the FBS with 63.3 rushing yards (the next lowest team was Mississippi State at 81.7) in 2022, albeit his first season in the role.
They had a quick turnaround, jumping to 198.3 yards per game the following season, second-best in the ACC, before falling to No. 8 and No. 15 in the conference the last two seasons.
It’s been a mixed bag of results for Huggins, who does have the added difficulty of recruiting and coaching at a down program in Boston College, but nothing about his resume has been overly impressive apart from one strong year.
He’s also failed to produce any NFL draft picks from his room, though Kye Robichaux was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2025.
Huggins is regarded as a strong recruiter and has ties to New Jersey, the state he played in for four seasons as a Scarlet Knight, but he hasn’t been credited with recruiting any blue-chip prospects, which will have to change at Penn State.
Offensive line coach Ryan Clanton: A-
Clanton didn’t begin coaching until 2014 but quickly earned his first offensive line coach role at Northern Iowa from 2018-22, even adding the title of assistant offensive coordinator in his final season with the Panthers.
He produced multiple NFL draft picks, including 2021 third-round pick Spencer Brown to the Buffalo Bills and 2022 first-rounder Trevor Pennington to the New Orleans Saints, an impressive feat at an FCS institution.
He took over the offensive line at Iowa State in 2023 and helped offensive tackle Jalen Travis earn a fourth-round draft selection from the Indianapolis Colts. The Cyclones’ run game also made strides under Clanton, and the unit allowed just 51 sacks in his three seasons in the role, the second-lowest total by any power conference school in that span.
